Back to School: the NORMAL kind
by morgorilla
Summary: Starts from chapter 87 of SOF, when the flock was going to actual school. Different decisions are made, which keeps the flock in school longer than Max had hoped, but she's learning to deal. Will they still look for their parents? Save the world? ... FAX!
1. The Big Decision

**AN: Okay. Let's do this thing.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE, NOR ANY OF HER BUDDIES. I only own this alternate ending. (Which I think will be pretty cool, if you know what I mean.)**

**SO. I'm gonna start off on chapter 87, just so you guys can catch up. I think you'll be able to tell when I start…. writing my OWN way.**

**Oh, and by the way, you need to remember that Iggy's not with them right now. He's with his newly found parents, 'member?**

**…… No? You don't? …. Maybe you should reread the second book…. (Pssh, loser.)**

………………………………………..Chapter 87…………………………………………

I ran as fast as I could down both classroom halls, yelling, and saw Nudge and then Fang burst out of their rooms. I felt both frantic and incredibly pissed: Here was the proof I'd needed all along to convince the others to leave _before now._

Other kids were streaming into the hallway, wondering what all the commotion was. Angel! Thank God, there she was, racing out of her classroom in front of me. She looked back, nodded, and poured on the speed toward the exit.

"Max! In here!" I saw Sam twenty feet ahead, standing in the doorway of an empty classroom. He motioned urgently with his hand. "Come on! Through here!"

But he was starting to look kind of Erasery around the edges—teeth a tiny bit too long, hair a shade thicker? I couldn't tell and couldn't take a chance.

"You can trust me!" he said, as I saw the Gasman rush out of his room, almost running into Nudge.

…………………..……… This is where my writing comes in ………………………….

Did he just say that I could trust him? Did he really just say that?

I knew that I couldn't trust anyone. Ever.

So why did those few words make me stop in my tracks?

_**Maybe it's not what he's saying, it's who's saying it**,_ the Voice chimed in helpfully, as usual.

But could I trust him?

"Max!" Fang yelled at me. "We gotta go! _Now!_"

I looked past him, at the parking lot filled with students, teachers, and possibly Erasers. Maybe that wasn't the safest way to escape…

I glanced back at Sam. He seemed like a nice guy. I really liked him. He seemed really down to Earth, not like he wanted to rip my guts out.

My instincts were telling me that we shouldn't go through the parking lot, but what other way was there?

Apparently, Sam's way.

So I made one of my snap decisions.

"Abdrehen!" I screeched. "Abdrehen!"

The flock turned around, wide eyed.

"_What?_" Fang said incredibly. The other members of the flock were fighting against the current of kids who were racing to the parking lot.

Fang paused, glaring at me with a fierce look that would've frightened me if I'd had any less adrenaline pumping through my veins. But when he saw Ari's van pull up to the school, he followed suit right behind Gazzy.

I nodded tightly at Sam, and then slipped into the empty classroom.

The rest of the flock came in, Sam closing the door behind him. Angel slipped her hand through mine.

"So… What now?" Gazzy asked. "How are we gonna get out of here?"

"I say you wait it out," Sam suggested, still keeping an eye on the busy hallway. I noticed how his eyes were brightly shining out from under his shaggy hair.

I blushed furiously, realizing that what I just thought was _completely _irrelevant to the situation we were in right now.

Fang saw, and he was glaring at me, then turning to glare at Sam, who was completely oblivious to the harsh gaze.

"We _can't_ wait it out," Angel said. "They'll find us."

"There's got to be another way," I mumbled.

Sam brought his gaze to mine. "There is," he blurted.

"Really? Where?" Nudge asked excitedly.

Sam hesitated, his hazel eyes sparking with doubt. "There's… There's a roof access, but I don't see how you could possibly get down safely…"

A smile spread across my face, and I beamed it at Sam. "Brilliant!" I gasped. "Where? Where is it?"

He looked taken aback, but he pointed to a door across the room. "Max, there's no way…"

But I was past listening.

"C'mon guys! Let's go! Quick! Quick!" I motioned the flock to the door and they obediently filed up the narrow stairs.

When we reached the roof, we all knew what to do.

But the flock hesitated when they saw Sam coming up onto the roof top. Of course, they weren't sure if they should expose their wings yet.

I held up my hand, telling them to wait.

Sam walked up to me.

"Thanks, Sam. Thank you so much for helping us. I'm glad I can trust you," I whispered once I'd embraced him in a hug.

"Max, what's going on?" he whispered back, completely bewildered.

I pulled back and smiled sadly at him, wishing I could explain. But I knew that as soon as I did, he would run away. He would run away kicking and screaming.

He sighed. "I can see that you don't _completely _trust me yet. But that's okay. I can wait."

A shadow passed over my face. How could I lead him on so cruelly? He probably thought that we'd see each other again. He probably thought that I'd be coming back.

I _had_ to make him run away from me. Then he would never have to think about me again. He could live his life in peace.

"Sam…" I started. "Sam there's something you should know."

Fang stepped forward, not liking where this was going. "Max, don't--"

"No, he deserves to know the truth," I cut Fang off.

Slowly, gently, without taking my eyes off of Sam's expression, I let my wings shake out behind me.

I watched as Sam's face become confused, and then watched as his eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates.

Would he run?

He should.

But did I want him to?

I desperately looked into his wide eyes, trying to read signs of fear, disgust, or complete hatred. But I wasn't seeing any.

"Whoa," he breathed.

I didn't dare breathe.

Was this a mistake?

Should I have just run him over in the hallway and continued with our original plan?

Seconds seemed like decades as I watched different emotions dancing across his face.

"That's _amazing!_" he exclaimed, completely and utterly shocking me.

I could feel the tension around me rolling off in waves.

"Really?" I asked him, not really believing it myself.

"Yeah," he said, flashing me his cute smile. "Really."

We smiled at each other, but then I was pulled back into reality when Fang cleared his throat with an annoying, "Ahem."

I jumped back, and tried to look in control. "Alright… Well… Uhh… Let's go?" I stuttered, sounding _real_ leader-like. Way to go, Max.

One by one, the flock took off, staying low in the sky to avoid being seen by the mass of a crowd gathered in front of the school.

Just as I was about to leap, Sam grabbed my wrist.

"Wait, Max," he said, reaching into his pocket.

I tensed, ready to twist his arm behind his back if he pulled out a needle.

I let out my breath slowly. Good. Not a needle; just a sharpie.

"Call me when you can," he muttered, leaning over my arm and scribbling a number down. "I want to know that you're okay."

He released my wrist and I smiled at him.

Feeling awkward, and completely aware of the four hovering figures watching me, I turned to take off again.

But Sam grabbed my wrist and turned me around again.

Before I could react, his lips were on mine in a gentle good-bye kiss. I closed my eyes and kissed back, truly meaning it. I didn't know when I was going to see him again. _If_ I was going to see him again.

I broke the kiss and took a deep breath.

"Bye, Sam," I said, my voice barely coming out in a whisper.

"See ya, Max," he breathed back.

And then I took off.

I felt his eyes on my back as I rejoined the flock.

"Well," Fang mumbled. "Glad we all said our farewells, but I'm ready to get outta here." There was something in his voice… Something I couldn't put my finger on.

"I agree," Gazzy admitted. "It was nice for a while, but school-schmuck just isn't my thing."

Everyone muttered an agreement, but for the first time ever, I wasn't exactly eager to leave.

For the first time ever, I looked back as we were flying away.

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**SO??? How was the first chapter? I think I like it… Hehe. Oh! And you know how the flock makes up weird words as signals when they don't want other people to understand what they're saying? Well, "abdrehen" means "changing course" in German! Isn't that COOLIO? I'm sneaky. So would you like, review and give me some feedback? It motivates me to write quicker! :D**


	2. Iggy's Reunion

**AN: Not many, reviews on the first chapter… BUT THAT'S OKAY! I have faith. You'll review this chapter… RIGHT? :( And sorry if you thought Max was being totally out of character in that last chapter, but I just really like making Fang jealous… Is that bad? (Don't answer that…) Okay, well I'm gonna have to take a little bit from chapter 88 in the second book, but after that, I promise it will be all me! (Yeah, cuz I know you like me better than the actual JP, haha) Ok. Enough babbling. Here we go! 3! 2! 1! BLASTOFF!!!**

………………………………………..Chapter 88…………………………………………

"Where to now?" the Gasman asked. We hovered in midair, our wings beating rhythmically, just hard enough to keep us in place. We'd kept a steady lookout, but so far no one seemed to be after us.

"We need to go back to Anne's," said Angel.

"Yeah, just real quick, to get some stuff," Nudge agreed.

"Actually," I said, "I hid our packs in the bat cave a few days ago. Just in case something like this happened. And I didn't forget to lift one of these," I added, waving one of Anne's countless credit cards in front of them. "She'll never miss it."

"Great," said the Gasman in relief. "That was really smart, Max."

"That's why they pay me the big bucks," I said. It was taking everything I had not to yell _I told you so!_ But now wasn't the time. Later, when we were safe, _then_ I would rub it in.

"We still have to go back to Anne's," Angel said urgently.

"Ange, we just can't take the risk of saying good-bye," I said.

"No," Angel said. "_Total's there."_

Oh, crap. I took two seconds to judge the likelihood of Angel leaving Total behind, which was _none_, and then Fang and I looked at each other and sighed.

"We'll try," I said, and I saw relief flood her face.

"Oh, _thanks_, Max!" she said. "We'll make it fast, I promise."

…………………………………….…My writing…………………………………………

I couldn't help but feel nervous as we flew towards Anne's house. I mean, the Erasers were probably _swarming_ over there. If Total _was_ still there, he better be staying inconspicuous.

About halfway there, we saw another figure coming towards us. A figure we recognized _very _well.

"_IGGY!!!_" we all yelled at once.

Oh my god, could it be him? I can't tell you how happy I was to see him.

He sped up, hearing us, and we noticed the little black squirming ball of fur in his arms.

"Total," Angel sighed, placing a little hand over her heart.

We all sped up, too, but I got there first. (Thanks to my super-speed, hehe.) We all revolved around him, wishing we could hug him, but knowing it impossible to do in the air.

"Iggy, oh, Iggy! We missed you so much!" Nudge squealed.

"Dude! Don't leave ever again!" Gazzy chortled.

"Good to have you back, Iggs," I said, making sure the smile was heard through my voice.

"IggyIggyIggyIggyIggyIggyIggy!" Angel chanted, giggling.

Even Fang said something, although it was just a "Good to see ya' man."

After all the laughing and greeting, we started coasting in the air, no general direction, just wanting to catch up with our well-missed member of the flock.

"So," I started, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Why… Why… I mean… What happened? With your parents, I mean." Yep. I'm good at the whole casual interrogation thing.

Iggy took a deep breath, knowing that this was coming. "Well, they were really nice. I think they really care about me, but… They weren't very clear on the whole wings-stay-a-secret thing. They wanted interviews with new channels, newspapers, and magazines. And plus, I just missed you guys. A lot."

My heart squeezed. Poor Iggy! He had always dreamed about having parents, but when he finally found them, they were trying to sell him off to the media.

"Oh, Iggs, I'm so sorry," I breathed.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. It sucks."

We were all quiet.

"What made you go back to Anne's?" Gazzy asked.

"To see you guys," Iggy said, in a _no-duh_ type of voice. "I got there just when the Erasers did. I could hear their clumsy wings. A few spotted me, but I took them out easily. Total saw me, and so I figured we should get the heck out of there."

"Good thinking," I laughed.

"Oh, and another thing…" Iggy started. His eyebrows knit together. "Anne… Anne isn't who we thought she was."

I tensed. "What do you mean?"

"Jeb was there. Jeb was there with the Erasers, and he and Anne were arguing. They kept saying things like, 'You didn't follow my orders,' and 'This wasn't the plan'. I think… I think she's been working with them."

I smiled smugly to myself. I _knew _that there was something wrong with that woman.

No one said anything. I could tell that they were all disappointed; yet another adult that we had trusted, and who had betrayed us.

"It's alright, guys. At least we didn't accept that adoption offer." I tried to sound light-hearted, but in truth, I hated her for making my flock like this.

"So, how did you guys get away from the school?" Iggy asked.

"Sam helped us!" Nudge burst, giggling and flashing knowing smiles in my direction. I immediately colored.

Iggy glanced at Fang, which I didn't get, and anyways, how did he know where he was? Iggy was freaking _blind_!

He mumbled something to Fang who growled a low response that I couldn't hear. Whatever.

"Uhh… Max, where are we going?" Angel asked innocently.

"Oh, umm, I think maybe we should stop somewhere locally for a few days."

Five pairs of eyes looked at me in surprised.

"You want us to _stay?_" Nudge exclaimed.

I took a deep breath. "Well, the Erasers won't expect us to stay in the same place, so why not? We just stay somewhere nearby for a while, and when the coast is clear, we can leave."

Iggy nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he mused. "Alright, I'm in."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Fang shrugged.

"Okay. Then let's descend."

We glided down and scanned the near forest for any good spots for us to camp out. We decided on a spot under a big tree, where we would be well hidden.

While Fang and Gazzy started the fire, Angel lay down on the soft grass and closed her eyes. Nudge was filling Iggy in on all the _oh-so-important_ gossip that he had missed in his absence of school.

With nothing to do, I sat down and rested my head on the thick trunk of the protective tree.

I couldn't help but think about today. A lot had happened: teachers with tasers, Erasers in vans, Anne and Jeb, Iggy coming back, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam….

I glanced down at my forearm—his number was still there.

Should I call him? I mean, obviously not right _now,_ but you know, eventually, when I had the time, should I?

I bit my lip. He was so sweet; I didn't want to disappoint him or worry him. I should call.

I decided that next time we were in town diving in a local dump (oh, the joys of being on the run again…) I would try to get to a payphone. Then, I _would _end it with Sam, and he wouldn't be able to call me back. He deserved better than a mutant freak with a bed reputation and the hots for another guy…

Wait, what?

Did I seriously just think that?

I glanced at Fang, my face heating up. He was still helping with the fire, bending over it, his hair sweeping over his eyes like it always does. He had grown really handsome, I'll admit, over the last few years. He didn't remind me of a kid anymore. But that doesn't mean that I'm falling all over him. No, I'm not that kind of girl. I wouldn't be like the Red Haired Wonder.

Then, my eyes widened as I thought of something else—_Angel_. She could read minds. And I just said that I had the hots for Fang. (Which, of course, I _don't_.) Slowly, my eyes turned on Angel. Thank God! She was asleep.

I let out my breath slowly, and let out a nervous laugh. Remember when my life used to be mostly centered around kicking Eraser-butt and keeping the flock safe? Well now I have to worry about stupid boy problems, sharing my brain with someone else (thanks, Voice), _and_ all of those other things.

Life just keeps getting better and better.

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**Okay, well uhh… thanks for reading? I would like you to review now, if you don't mind. You don't just walk into someone's house, admire all of their great decorations and furniture, and leave without complimenting them, do you? No! Well this is the exact same thing! (Sort of.) So you better review. Or I'm not inviting you back into my house. :)**


	3. Talking Under the Stars

**AN: Hola! What's up? *Silence* …. Really? Oh my gosh! That's just darn interesting! Ok, here's the next chapter! I hope that you didn't end up crying, _AngelzRule33_, 'cause that would make me real sad. ;)**

……………………………………….Max's POV………………………………………

"Hey," Fang said casually as he sat down next to me.

I swear, I jumped like twenty feet in the air. "_Jesus_, Fang!" I hissed. "Give a girl some warning before you pull that ninja crap on them!" I punched his arm and put a hand on my heart, which was racing. It really scared me that he could move that silently, even when it was dead quiet and I had been keeping a watchful eye on the flock.

We had had dinner (if that's what you can call a bag of beef jerky and a thing of Doritos) a few of hours ago. We were all pretty beat, so we hit the hay early. I had taken first watch.

Fang chuckled deeply, drawing me back to reality. "But where's the fun in that?"

I rolled my eyes.

We were covered in a comfortable silence. I was the first to break it.

"You should be sleeping."

He stiffened. "Can't."

Hmm. "Why?"

"Just 'cause."

"'Cause why?"

He shrugged.

I sighed and rubbed my temples in frustration. "You are _so _confusing."

He smirked in that way that always made my stomach twist. I wondered what he was thinking…

"What are you thinking?" he asked abruptly. I blushed, not believing that we had been thinking the same thing. (Huh. We were both thinking about wanting to know what the other one of us was thinking. Sort of ironic, isn't it?)

He saw my blush, and his jaw set. "Oh."

I sat upright. What did he mean by that? "Oh, what?"

He looked away, but not before I saw something spark in his eyes. "You were thinking about _him_."

Who was "him"? Iggy? Gazzy? Jeb? …_Barney?_ Be more specific, Fang. Time to use your big boy words.

"Him who?" I asked pursing my lips. I looked deep into his eyes, truly curious.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Sam."

I blushed deeper, different feelings fluttering all over me: embarrassment, curiosity, wonder, amusement. In my stupor, I forgot to deny him.

He looked away again, this time his eyes showing hurt before going cold.

Silence overcame us again, but this time it was just plain awkward. (Is it just me, or is "awkward" just an awkward word? Hmmm… I think it's pretty cool that I can be in the middle of a really awkward situation while pondering other things including the word awkward…)

"So what's next?" Fang asked, trying to break the ice. He wasn't very good at choosing an easy subject, though. I guess he's just a really straight-to-the-point kind of guy.

I took a breath and blew it out slowly, buying me some time. "Well, uhhh, I'm not sure, but I really don't want to think about it right now." And it was true. I had no idea where we should go, or what we should do.

He nodded. "Well… I'm off to bed." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he changed his mind. He stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets, and slunk back to his place next to the fire.

"Good-night," I mumbled, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. Fang could be a butt sometimes.

I leaned my head back against the tree and looked up at the stars. Is it possible for someone who isn't usually emotional to self-destruct from overload of emotion? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that I am getting dangerously close to it.

What was I going to do? I'm the leader, I should know. I should always have a plan! Why can't I decide on something? Why can't I convince myself that we need to leave? What was holding me back? I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to not think about it. I'll worry about it tomorrow. Wow, I was starting to sound like Scarlett O'hara. (You know, the chick from _Gone With the Wind_? "Oh, Rhett! My dear! Where can he be? What'll I do? What'll I _do?_ …But I mustn't worry. I'll worry about it tomorrow." Yeah, she was annoying.)

I noticed Iggy sitting up.

"Hey, Iggy," I whispered to him.

He yawned and came over to sit next to me. "Alright, you can sleep now. First shift is over."

I blinked. "But it's only been, like, an hour!"

He raised a blonde brow. "Really? Then my watch must be wrong. I thought I set it to wake me up at 2:00 A.M." He held out his wrist to me.

I peered down at the fancy digital watch that Iggy's parents had gotten him. I pressed a button on the side and the screen illuminated Iggy's face in a pale blue. "Huh," I mused. "It's 2:02. I guess I just… zoned out." The light went out, and I had to blink away the light spots that were swimming in my vision in the shape of a Iggy's watch face.

Iggy grinned. "Oh? And what were you thinking about, Max?" He looked so freaking mischievous, he almost convinced me that I was thinking about something that I shouldn't have been.

"Oh, eww, Iggy."

He snickered.

"I'm rolling my eyes, Iggy."

"Aren't you always…" he muttered mostly to himself as I crawled back to the sleeping area.

I took off my sweater and rolled it into a ball. I stuck it under my head and was instantly asleep.

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**Ok, so this was kind of a filler chapter (and it's short...), but I felt that it was necessary. I mean, who doesn't want a little bit of jealous Fang? (I think it's hot…) Okay, so review and tell me the following things—**

**Do YOU like jealous Fang?**

**When the flock goes back to school, who should they stay with?**

**Niggy? (Iggy + Nudge)**

**And… you know, what you thought about the chapter…**

**Yup, so I'm gonna leave you to it. *scratches her head and stumbles away awkwardly***


	4. IHOP

**AN: I had the best bus ride home EVER! Well, my bus is filled with annoying popular people (you know the type) who listen to only mainstream music and wear WAY too much makeup. I usually don't talk to them. Today, my bus driver was flipping through the radio station and stopped on an oldie's station. _Hey Jude_ by the Beatles happened to be playing, and for those of you who don't really know me, I LOVE THAT SONG. So of course I started singing along. Everyone was giving me really weird looks like I was crazy. But then, Mr. Dark Handsome and Mysterious Older Guy starts singing, too. Everyone gaped at him, because everyone thought he was just one of those cool silent hot dudes. He winked at me and we continued to sing together. IT WAS AWESOME! I LOVE RANDOM STRANGERS! (Don't tell that to your parents now, kids.) Okay, sorry, that was random but I just had to share it with you. I haven't even told all of my buddies yet! You guys are just so special.**

……………………………………..Max's POV…………………………………………

I was up early, as always. I stood up and cracked my stiff neck from side to side. (I know, real macho, right?) I stretched my sore body and yawned.

"Max! You're up!" Angel said.

I jumped. I hadn't known she was up. Jeesh, what was with me not noticing things lately? I needed to get more focused.

I tried to recover and act normal. "Oh, hey Ange."

She was sitting on the ground clutching Celeste and looking just darn adorable.

"Thank you," she giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want for breakfast?"

She raised a brow. "_You're _not making it, are you?"

I clutched my chest and staggered a few steps back, being dramatic. "What do you mean?" I asked, blinking rapidly. "Are you saying… Are you saying that I _can't cook?_"

She giggled again.

Just then, Iggy woke up mumbling, "I wa' foo."

"Use proper English, Iggy," I instructed. "I believe the correct term would be, 'I want food.'"

He chucked a rock at me with surprisingly good aim for a blind kid. I snickered, dodging.

"Sheesh. _Someone's _touchy in the mornings."

After that, everyone was up.

Feeling in a good mood, I exclaimed, "Who wants to stop for breakfast at IHOP?"

I got five eager replies. I knew that I hit a soft spot; the flock loves IHOP.

"Even a sophisticated chap like myself has a soft spot for syrup drenched pancakes," Total huffed.

So just like that, we were off. I hung back and made sure that there were no traces of us ever being there. Gazzy helped me; we brushed out the imprints of six sleeping bodies, threw the burnt firewood deep into the surrounding forest, and made sure that all evidence of junk food was picked up.

Gazzy and I flew together towards the small town, the flock little specs in the distance ahead of us. We saw them descend, and we followed suit.

The flock was waiting behind the IHOP (it was in the middle of nowhere, so don't freak out, 'cause no one saw us.) as Gazzy and I joined them.

Iggy rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. "Alright! Time to fill the tank!"

We walked into the almost-empty IHOP, and glanced around cautiously out of habit. I memorized escape routes and observed suspicious looking characters.

A perky waitress with a loose ponytail bounced over to us. She eyed Total and opened her mouth to tell us to get him out of there, but then a blank look passed over her face. Angel had obviously done her damage. The waiter looked away from Total and casually asked, "Table for six?"

I nodded and she lead us to a booth next to a window. Good; windows were good if we needed to escape quickly. (God, I'm paranoid…)

Fang flashed a sly grin at me, obviously understanding my train of thought. "Nervous, are we?"

I snorted. "No, not nervous. You just can never be too careful."

He smirked and sat down across from me.

Nudge's eyes went wide as she scanned the laminated sheet of paper in front of her. "Oooh, look at this menu! There's so much…. There's just so much _food!_ I mean, yeah, I admit that it would be a lot cooler to have like a mom and dad to make homemade breakfast everyday, but this is pretty darn good as well! And it gets here a lot faster! I don't know what I'm gonna get…."

Needless to say, that's when I zoned her out. Fang was obviously doing the same, by the way he was blankly staring at the cup of orange juice in front of him. Gazzy was silently snickering with Iggy about something, and Angel was having fun reading other people's minds and whispering the weird things she was picking up to Total under the table.

I decided to cut into Nudge's mini speech when she was taking a breath. "Okay guys, so where are we planning on going next?"

They all got quiet and looked at me. I nervously took a sip of my chocolate milk.

"Haven't _you_ picked somewhere for us to go?" Gazzy asked incredulously.

I gulped. "Well, I just thought that maybe I could let you guys choose this time. I'll be okay with anything. Well, you know, anything _reasonable._"

They were quiet.

"Well, for sure I _don't_ want to go to school anymore," Angel said, eyeing me carefully. But I heard some sort of regret in her voice…

"Yeah, who needs school?" Nudge added, giving a fake look of disgust.

"Not me!" Gazzy added, with a sad look in his eyes.

Something was going on here…

"Guys, what's that all about?" I asked suspiciously.

"What?" Angel asked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

And then it hit me.

"You all liked school, didn't you?" I asked, trying to leave my voice emotionless. "You were trying to be brave about leaving because you thought that I didn't want to stay anymore. You were doing it for me."

Slowly, Nudge met my eyes. "It felt so _right_, Max. It made me feel almost _normal_."

"I… I kind of liked it, too," Gazzy added reluctantly. Geez, it's like they were all scared I was going to eat them or something!

"I made lots of new friends," Angel murmured, her lower lip trembling.

"Tess could've been my girlfriend," Iggy said sheepishly.

I looked at Fang, who hadn't said anything. He met my eye and shrugged. (Such a Fang move.)

I nodded, thinking. "Well," I started slowly. "I usually would _never_ in _any possible circumstance_ even _consider_ the possibility of revisiting a place where we were exposed. But, who knows, maybe we can pull a few strings."

They all beamed at me.

"_But_," I added, "We're going to have to stay hidden for a while before going back, okay? We don't want to pop right back into a mess that we caused."

They all nodded (except for Fang of course, who just stared at me like I was insane) and said things like, "Thank you, Max!" and "This is going to be great!" which left me feeling pretty darn dandy about myself, thank you very much.

When the waitress came back, she took our order and gave us very disconcerting looks, but besides that, she fulfilled our bellies' desires. And trust me—It was delish!

We left after paying with Anne's visa and then set of to find a place to resolve all of our issues on the whole going-back-to-school thing.

God, I'm an idiot for giving in to this.

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**YAY! I hope that was an okay way to get the flock to go back to school. Or was it crap? You need to tell me because I'm lacking some brain right now (a zombie had a very convenient snack on my head earlier today…) and you've got to help me! Review and help me drive away the zombie that snacked on my brain! Hurry! Grab your pitchforks! (Do pitchforks even affect zombies? Or do zombies just not have feeling anymore and it could go straight through them without doing any damage? Why am I asking you this?) ……..Sorry. Just… Just review.**


	5. Thinking Things Through

**AN: Ok, all you people who just add me to your favorite authors list or your favorite stories list, listen up—WHY ARE YOU NOT REVIEWING? Why? Why would you do this to me? Sure, I get that you like my story or my writing, but really, how long does it take to type, 'Your writing is pretty good!' or 'Giraffes like to boogey dance in the break of dawn'? I don't even care if it was as random as that second one! (Well, no, I take that back—I'd like it to at least SOMEWHAT relate to my story.) But still, c'mon! Be a dear and freakin' REVIEW!**

**Bubbley-chan: I guess you're right! Haha, he's sort of a stranger 'cause he never talks. He just gets on the bus, looks really hot, then gets off. But I guess that doesn't make him a RANDOM stranger. Just a stranger.**

**Oh, and by the way, I'm not gonna bother and type "Max's POV" before my chapters anymore, so just go ahead and assume. If it's in someone else's POV, I'll be sure and tell you.**

...

"Okay," I mumbled, pacing back and forth. "How are we going to do this?" I thought about the different ways we could go back to school in safety and without causing suspicion/complete chaos. Here's what I came up with:

Option 1- We come back with completely different looks, and convince everyone that we are foreign exchange students from Switzerland.

Option 2- We come back pretending like we don't know anything and had just run away because we were scared like everyone else.

Option 3- Angel mind controls everyone into believing that nothing had happened yesterday and it was all in their imaginations.

Okay, so looking back on these options, I found the some problems. With Option 1, I realized that new looks wouldn't work because we tried that before, remember? Back in New York? The Erasers spotted us just as easily as if we had put neon signs above our heads that said, "We're right here! Come eat us!" In Option 2, there's no way that we could just pretend like nothing had happened. Those people were probably mentally scarred for life. Option 3 was just completely ridiculous. There's no way that Angel could do that all by herself. Her powers weren't _that_ strong.

"Hey!" Angel complained.

I smiled wryly. "Yet," I added. "Not that strong _yet_."

She nodded in approval. "Well I have an idea."

I stopped and turned to her. "Alright. I'm listenin'."

She sat up straight. "Okay," she started. "How about this: We scout out around the school for a couple of days, check things out, make sure there's no Erasers, and then when we're sure it's safe, we go back." She said it so matter-of-factly, that I almost immediately agreed that it was a great plan.

But then I saw its kinks. (Hmm. That's also a weird word…)

"What about Anne?" I asked. "If she's really connected with Itex somehow, she'll probably come after us once she knows that we're back at school."

"Easy. We make a false lead elsewhere. She'll leave, thinking that she's hot on our tail, and she won't ever suspect that we never even left."

I nodded. "But how about the principal? He didn't like us very much, in case you didn't notice," I pointed out, shooting an all-knowing look at Gazzy who was trying to look innocent. "He could've been linked to Itex as well."

Angel paused to gather her thoughts. "Yes, I suppose he _could_ be, by the way he freaked out and told you that you would like, perish and stuff, but I didn't pick up more from him than merely, 'I hate kids'. But I can tune into him a little more closely as well, just to make sure."

"Okay, this is a lot of work just to get back into a school," Fang said, standing up. "Can't we just like, go to a different school somewhere else?"

Nudge shook her head. "No, we made friends here. I wouldn't like starting over. Plus, the area is so pretty…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Those don't seem like very good reasons."

"Fang," I warned.

He shut up, but gave me a look that said, 'we're talking about this later'.

"Okay. So it's settled," I sighed. "Time for a stake out."

...

"So where are we going to stay tonight?" Nudge asked as we were casually soaring through the sky. We rose up on the currents and made wide arcs, loving every moment of it.  
I thought. "We could find a new camp spot in the woods," I suggested.

They were quiet, but I knew that they were missing having their own beds to sleep in back at Anne's.

"Or…" I prompted.

The Gasman's spiky blonde head snapped up and his bright eyes met mine. "Or what?" he asked excitedly.

I smirked at the curious faces that were watching me.

"Oh, Max!" Angel gasped, reading my thoughts, "Yes, that's a_ great_ idea! I would love that so much! Please, Max! _Please!_ Let's do that!"

"Dowhatdowhatdowhatdowhat?" Nudge slurred as she practically forgot to flap in all of the excitement.

"Well," I started, loving the power of building up suspense, "We're absolutely sure that we want to stay here, right?"

Everyone nodded immediately, except for Fang who hesitated and looked away without meeting my eyes. I'd have to worry about that later…

"And we can't really just live in the forest, can we?"

Again with the nods.

"So maybe we should look for a home." The kids smiled so bright, and I knew that I'd made the right choice.I felt the rightness of the words as soon as they left my lips. We'd been on the run, and I knew that that was tough for them. They were just kids, after all. (Weird mutant freak kids, but kids none the less.) They deserved _somewhat_ normal lives.

_**You're not normal children, Maximum**,_ the Voice said.

"Oh, yeah, like you had to remind me," I mumbled.

"Remind you what, Max?" Iggy asked slowly.

I just shook my head and focused on flying again. But I saw Angel mouth 'Voice' to the concerned flock and they all instantly understood.

I felt their eyes on my back. Sheesh, they must think I'm a freak.

"We don't think you're a freak, Max," Angel said sweetly.

"Well, we sort of do," Nudge thought aloud. Everyone looked at her, surprised. "We're _all_ freaks." We just continued to stare at her.

"What?" she cried, feeling uncomfortable with the strange looks she was getting. "It's true! Are you sayin' that six kids with wings and off the charts metabolism rates are _normal?_"

We were quiet for a moment, but then we all suddenly broke out into sudden bursts of spastic laughter. And let me tell you, it felt _so so so amazing_ to laugh again.

Even Fang couldn't help but laugh until it brought tears to his eyes.

"Okay guys," I managed after a few attempts. "Let's go house hunting."

...

**Okay, so I'm sorry it took a while for this to get up, but I felt like I had a little bit of a writer's block and I've been stressed with school volleyball tryouts coming up and everything. Oh well. I'll try to update more often.**


	6. House Hunting

**AN: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, soccergal12, for giving me the BESTEST idea ever! I don't know why I didn't think of it before—it's so obvious now! But anyways, I love you, soccergal12. Truly, I do. I was having a serious writer's block. I probably won't use your idea in this chapter, but thank you anyways! Yeah, so ON WITH THE STORY!**

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"Oh! Oh! What about that one?" Nudge cried, pointing to a huge mansion in the middle of a crowded suburban neighborhood.

I snorted. "I don't think so."

Nudge's face fell. "Why not?"

"First of all, it's already inhabited." I pointed out the lights that were on all over the house. (Jeez, people, have you ever thought about saving energy? You're killing polar bears!) "And second, I was thinking somewhere out of the way and very hidden."

"Yeah, okay," Nudge grumbled, looking back longingly at what we would consider a palace.

We continued to scan the horizon, flying over the small lit up town. It was already dark and we had been looking all day. If we didn't find a place soon, it was back to the forest for the mutant bird kids.

"So we're looking for an old abandoned place where no one would see us and or find us with a lot of trees around it for us to be able to climb up and see if anyone is coming," Iggy confirmed.

"Basically." I sighed internally, hoping against all odds that we could find a house like that where we could be safe. Knowing our luck, our chances weren't looking so great.

"So pretty much like that one over there?" The Gasman asked, pointing to something in the distance.

My eyes followed his outstretched finger until I saw what he was pointing at.

It was perfect. Exactly like Iggy described, it looked very old and not likely to attract attention, had many trees around it to hide it (we probably wouldn't have seen it if we hadn't been this high up), and it was the perfect look out spot on top of a hill. I gotta say—I was a bit suspicious.

"Well that's convenient," I mumbled, squinting.

I heard Fang grunt. I looked back at him. Meeting his dark-as-night eyes, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Fang and I will check it out first," I said, already flying ahead. "Iggy—you're in charge until we get back. Just stay and circle around up here. I'll send thoughts through Angel if it's safe or if you should leave immediately."

"Got it," they all said at once.

"Fang," I called, jerking my head towards the house. "Let's go."

He hesitated, which I was completely bewildered by. Angel giggled and Fang shot her a glare so intense that she stopped, but I could tell she was fighting it.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," Fang mumbled, not meeting my eyes. "Just nothing."

A smile slowly spread across my face. "Is Fangy afraid of haunted houses?" I asked innocently, pouting my lip a little.

Fang's head shot up and he sent the glare at _me_ this time. "No! I'm not afraid of a freaking _house_. That's ridiculous." He sounded like he truly meant it.

"Then what's wrong?" I asked.

He shot Angel a look that said tell-her-and-I-will-make-your-life-miserable. "Like I said, it's nothing. C'mon." And just like that, he dove down, completely blending in with the dark surroundings.

I gave Angel a questioning look, but she shook her head and said, "Can't tell. He'll kill me."

Knowing that I wouldn't get anything else from her, I followed Fang. Why was he so hesitant to go with me? Did my breath smell bad or something?

**_Maybe it's because he cares about you,_** the Voice commented unexpectedly. I hardened my heart, not letting it get to me.

**_No_, **I shot back. **_He doesn't care about me anymore than the rest of the flock. He can't. He's like my brother. And besides, he's with Lissa._**

I thought that it would shut up like he usually does, but I guess it just wasn't my lucky day.

**_You know that's not true, Max. People don't get jealous over their brother's girlfriends._**

My face heated up, but I was determined to prove the Voice wrong._ I. Did. Not. Like. Fang._

"I'm not jealous!" I couldn't help yelling as I landed clumsily on the ground. "I like _Sam._" And it was true. I really did like Sam. Fang… Fang was just my brother. That's it. He couldn't be more than that. It would ruin everything.

Fang was on the porch, but I hadn't seen him since he had practically fused into the darkness around him. He gave me a strange look and my face heated again. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. Fang probably thought I was crazy now.

His expression was totally unreadable, which I found annoying, but he seemed… caught up in what I had just said.

He opened his mouth, then shut it, then clenched his fists.

"What?" I asked, hands on my hips.

He huffed and then stalked inside the abandoned home.

Letting out a long breath, I followed him.

When we first walked in, we were in the living room. It was very dusty, but still furnished with an old flower patterned couch and matching armchairs. There was a small fireplace that they were centered around, and a small coffee table in front of it.

I walked over to the shelves that were nailed onto the wall and observed the pictures sitting on top of them.

The first picture was of a married couple on their wedding day. The woman had dark eyes and tanned skin, and the man had brown, curly hair and very profound features. The woman was wearing a simple white dress with a thin, see-through shawl thrown around her arms. Her hair was pulled back and her veil was already thrown behind her. He was in a suit, just like most grooms, and his tie was as silver as his eyes. Like tradition, they were cutting the cake together. They were smiling sweetly at each other, and something about the way they were looking at each other made my stomach go into flutters. The way they were looking at each other… I could tell it was true love. And I'm not the mushy type.

The next photo was of the same couple, probably a couple of years later, in a hospital. The woman had a pink bundle in her arms and the man had his arms around her. They were beaming down at what I now saw was a newly born baby girl.

_Lucky her,_ I thought grimly to myself. _She gets a _normal_ life._

My eyes slowly moved on to the next photo, of the little girl more grown up, probably about three or four years old. I couldn't help but smile at the cute little kid sitting in a bathtub and covered in suds. She was smiling sweetly right at the camera, and something about her dark eyes reminded me of someone…

The last photo was of the same girl, but she was a lot older in this one. I'm thinking, like, our age. It was a school picture, you know, with the gray cloudy looking background. She had her long brown hair thrown over one shoulder and she was smiling that same sweet smile. But her eyes… I recognized her eyes…

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled as Fang walked up silently behind me to look at the pictures.

"I wonder what happened to them," he mused.

I shivered as his voice came much closer than I thought he was. "Maybe they just moved," I said casually.

I turned around to walk over to the window, and practically walked into Fang.

"Sorry," I mumbled as he grabbed my shoulders to steady me.

I looked up at his impassive face and met his steady gaze.

"Are you serious about this?" he asked.

"About what?"

"About moving here, about going back to school."

I nodded slowly. "I want to do what the kids want for once."

He raised a brow. "So it's not what you want to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't mind." It was partially true, but mostly I was really nervous about leftover Erasers coming back for seconds.

He looked away before asking, "Is that the _only_ reason you want to stay?"

"No."

Fang's eyes shot back to mine, capturing them in his intense stare. They begged me to go on, to explain myself.

"I like it here," I whispered, trying not to give too much away. I desperately wanted to get the spotlight off me, so I hastily asked, "Do _you_ want to stay?"

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "I could do without a few things, but I like it here, too."

"What things would you do without?" I asked slowly, wondering what they could be.

He leaned closer, and I was suddenly aware of his hands that were still on my shoulders. My breath caught in my throat. The moonlight was filtering through the window, leaving us in the direct path of the rays. I noticed how the light made Fang's eyes shine… Wait. I'm not into all this mushy stuff!

What was he going to do?

He came inches away from me, and I thought I was going to explode from the silence.

"I could do without competition," he whispered so low that I wasn't sure that I actually heard him.

He leaned closer, and closer, and closer….

I was frozen.

I didn't know whether I should run or just go with it or—

Luckily, I didn't have to choose one of the above.

_**Max! Fang! Can you hurry up? We really want to see our new home!**_

Thank god, Angel!

I stepped back from Fang and walked around him.

"I'll check upstairs," I breathed, already halfway up them.

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**Yay for FAX! And yay for nosey Angel! Hahaha…… REVIEW!**


	7. The Dream

**AN: School's out! YES! That means that I'll probably have more time to write! Ok, so I have a whole bunch of ideas for this story, but they're all jumbled around in my noggin and I really am just trying to make sure that I don't explode and then completely forget the story line. Pray. Pray that that doesn't happen. I absolutely HATE plotless stories. Like, with a passion.**

…

"Goodnight, Max," Angel whispered to me as I kissed the top of her blonde head. She was curled up in her new bed in her new room, which she had claimed the minute that she had walked in the door.

It must've been the little girl's bedroom because it was filled with dolls and stuffed animals, and a very little iron-wrought bed with an old spring mattress. It was a cute room, but I knew that I wouldn't have been able to sleep in it for a while. It was a bit creepy in the dark with all of the abandoned play toys.

Angel giggled. "I'll be safe from the evil teddy bears, Max. I promise. I have brave little Total here to rip them to shreds." She stroked Total's head and he wiggled in his sleep.

I smiled. "I know. Now go to sleep, Ange. I have a feeling we're going to have a big day tomorrow."

All playfulness left her sweet little face. "Are we starting the stake out so soon?"

I ran my fingers through her tangled hair and smiled down at her. "Probably. But don't worry about it. We'll deal with it tomorrow. Goodnight, Angel."

She yawned and pulled Total closer to her. "G'nighmax," she mumbled incomprehensibly from under the fluffy pink covers that we had found in the closet.

The bed creaked as I stood up quietly and tip toed to the door.

"Sweet dreams," I whispered, glancing back at the adorable picture of her and Total snuggly sleeping.

As soon as I tip toed out of the room, I knocked on the door across from Angel's.

"Just a sec!" Gazzy called. I heard a lot of shuffling and ruffling and I instantly knew that they were hiding some new project from me.

I barged in the room to find an innocent looking Gasman and a suspicious looking Iggy standing in the middle of the room.

I sighed. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?" Gazzy asked.

"Your new bomb or whatever the heck you were just working on before I knocked and you hid it from me."

Iggy stepped forward and put his hands on my shoulders. "Max, Max. You've had a long day. You need to rest. Don't worry about us—we're not doing anything. Go to bed, now."

As he spoke, he turned me around and marched me out the room. As soon as I was out, Gazzy shut the door in my face.

Fine. I would find out sooner or later.

"Just don't blow the house up," I called through the door.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Iggy replied.

I started towards the room at the end of the hall, but stopped just in front of it. I didn't want to see Fang right now. I would just talk to him through the door.

"Hey, Fang, you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Fine."

I gritted my teeth. "Alright. Goodnight then."

"Yeah. Goodnight."

I spun around, confused, and trudged over to the room that Nudge and I were sharing.

"Nudge?" I said, peeking into our room.

There Nudge was, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front cardboard box. She was pulling out CD after CD after CD and putting them into different piles. Her eyes were bright as she looked up at me.

"Max," she breathed. "This girl was into music! There's all sorts of CDs here!" She held one of them to show me.

I walked over to her and took it from her hand. The CD was labeled, _Madonna, Like a Virgin._

"Huh, oh, well uhh, that's great," I said, trying to hold the bursts of laughter that were rising to the surface.

She smiled, and went back to her sorting. "This pile," she said, gesturing to the highest pile, "is the pile of music that I know that I already love and I'm really looking forward to listening to. This one," she said, pointing to the second pile, "is the ones that I've never heard of, and the last one," she said, motioning to the final and shortest of the piles, "is consisted of music that was popular for about two weeks before hitting rock bottom on the charts and completely disappeared from pop culture forever."

I raised my brows at her. "I didn't know that you knew so much about 80's music."

She shrugged. "I watched VH1 a lot at Anne's."

I laughed. "That explains a lot."

She smiled up at me. "I think I'm going to be really happy here."

"I'm glad. I could learn to be happy here, too." And before I knew it, Nudge had jumped up and thrown herself into my arms.

"I love this," she mumbled into my shoulder.

"Love what?" I asked, while rubbing her back.

"I love that Iggy's back and we're all together and safe. I love that we're going back to school. I love that we don't have to leave just because of Erasers. I love that we have a home again."

"Me too, Nudge."

She pulled back and sat down on her bed. "I'm kind of beat. I guess I'll go to bed now."

I hugged her one more time before switching off the lamp and whispering goodnight.

I flopped down on the couch that I had had to pull in since there were no more beds. It was supposed to be the kind that pulled out into a bed, but I was too tired to do that right then.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to sleep. I was surprised when I welcomed sleep so easily…

_Fang's eyes shot back to mine, capturing them in his intense stare. They begged me to go on, to explain myself._

_"I like it here," I whispered, trying not to give too much away. I desperately wanted to get the spotlight off me, so I hastily asked, "Do _you _want to stay?"_

_The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "I could do without a few things, but I like it here, too."_

_"What things would you do without?" I asked slowly, wondering what they could be._

_He leaned closer, and I was suddenly aware of his hands that were still on my shoulders. My breath caught in my throat. The moonlight was filtering through the window, leaving us in the direct path of the rays. I noticed how the light made Fang's eyes shine… Wait. I'm not into all this mushy stuff!_

_What was he going to do?_

_He came inches away from me, and I thought I was going to explode from the silence._

_"I could do without competition," he whispered so low that I wasn't sure that I actually heard him._

_He leaned closer, and closer, and closer…._

_I was frozen._

_I didn't know whether I should run or just go with it or—_

_All of a sudden, the girl from the photos walked in. But she wasn't little anymore. She was grown up, probably in her twenties. "Fang!" she cried as she held open her arms and walked up to him. "Welcome home!"_

_ Completely forgetting me, Fang walked into her arms. She peeked around Fang and locked eyes with me. Those eyes… They were so familiar… God, why couldn't I remember where I'd seen them?_

_ "Max," she spoke. "You need to help him."_

_ I blinked. "Help who? Fang?" I knew she meant Fang the moment I said it. "Oh, okay, what am I supposed to help him with?"_

_ She smiled sadly. "Help him discover the truth." Then she dissolved in Fang's arms. Fang grasped the empty air and sank to his knees. _

_ I slowly walked forward and placed a hand on Fang's shaking shoulder. _

_ He turned to me and I met his eyes…_

_ His eyes!_


	8. The Benefits of Homework

**AN: Before you start throwing rocks at me for not updating sooner, PLEASE just hear me out. (Hehe, that sounds so cool! "Here me out, yo!" Hahaha… Sorry. I'm totally NOT avoiding the subject.) My laptop died! Yep. There's the truth. It died. And I don't know how I'm surviving without it… It's tough, trust me. So I'm writing this on my dad's computer for now. I don't like the Microsoft Word on his computer. It's total blechy. So… ummm…. There you go. Can I go free now? …. Thank you. Oh, and if you're wondering, when I talk about the flock getting breakfast, you may find it weird that they really like bacon. Well, you may not find it weird at all if you've read _Diary of a Lovesick Mutant._ Anyone else read that? It's hilarious! Haha… Bacon….**

…..

"Max, you up yet?" Nudge asked, shaking my shoulder. I was facing the wall, so she couldn't tell that my eyes were already opened. She couldn't tell that they had been open since I'd woken up from that dream.

How was it possible? What are the chances that the _one house _that we chose to stay in happened to be _Fang's mom's?_ I mean, that's a little farfetched, don't you think?

_**It's no coincidence, Max. I made sure that you found your way here.**_

Oh, gee thanks, Voice.

I sighed and squeezed my sore eyes shut. Rolling over, I mumbled, "What time is it?"

"Seven," she replied, while she plopped herself down on my legs.

I grunted. "Why are we up so early?"

"We're going to stake out today, remember?"

Oh yeah. "Right. Of course."

"Max? You okay? You seem really tired," Nudge commented, taking in my appearance.

I managed to pull my legs out from under her and sat up straight. "Yeah, sweetie. I didn't get much sleep last night, but I'm fine. Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast, 'kay?" I stood up and held my hand out to her.

Without giving it another thought, she grabbed my hand and we walked down the narrow hallway and down the creaky stairs.

As we emerged into the living room, I saw that everyone else was already up. Angel and Gazzy were sitting at the dining table, playing cards with the deck that I had snatched from Anne's. Iggy was sitting on the counter, grumbling about having no food and Fang was…

Where was Fang?

"He's at McD's, getting us breakfast," Angel answered my unasked question.

Good. I didn't know if I could face him after that weird dream…

Angel looked up. "You had a bad dream, Max?"

I gulped and put on a nonchalant face. "Yeah, no big deal. Just that same one I used to have with the Erasers chasing us and stuff."

She didn't look convinced, but she turned back to her game.

I walked up to the counter Iggy was sitting on and hopped up next to him. "So, is everyone up to the big stake out today?"

Iggy nodded. "Definitely. The sooner we get back to school and get things into a routine, the better."

"Yeah, totally," Nudge said while sitting down next to Angel. "I mean, we don't want to miss a lot of school, right? That would mean lots of makeup homework."

"I like homework," Angel said sweetly.

The Gasman stared at her over his cards. "You _like_ homework? How can you like something that takes up so much of your time and doesn't benefit you in any way?"

Angel crossed her arms and held her head up. "It _does _benefit. Knowledge is the key to success."

Gazzy snorted. "The key to success is power."

Angel rolled her eyes. "That is such a _boy _answer."

I laughed at my two littlest flock members. "Never did I ever think we would be having this argument," I snickered under my breath to Iggy.

He smiled and leaned closer. "Never did _I _ever think that I would meet my parents and that they would turn out to be butts. But hey. Things change."

I nodded. "Ain't that the truth."

"Oh, and by the way," Angel said to Gazzy, "I can see your cards."

Gazzy looked confused. "No you can't! I'm holding them away from you!"

Angel smiled mischievously. "_Hello!_" she drew out in an obviously taunting tone, "_I'm a mind reader._"

Slowly, understanding crossed The Gasman's face.

Angel beamed victoriously. "See, Gazzy? This is why we need homework."

I laughed so hard at Gazzy's shocked face, my sides started to hurt and my vision was getting blurry.

"What's so funny?" Fang asked, walking into the room full of what probably looked like a whole bunch of people on laughing gas.

"Angel… Gazzy… BAHAHA!" Nudge tried, but failed to explain. It's funny how some things can really make you laugh, even when they're not that funny. . Even Total was rolling on the floor underneath Angel's chair.

Fang looked at me helplessly.

I took a deep breath and managed to pause the giggle fest, but it didn't take away my smile. "Angel and Gazzy," (pause for bubble of laughter) "were just having a debate about the… benefits," (another giggle) "of homework."

Fang raised a brow at Angel. "And who won?"

The room burst into hysteria again.

"Angel!" Iggy laughed, wiping away tears from his sightless eyes. "Definitely Angel!"

Now Fang couldn't help from at least smiling. You know, when you're with someone and they're laughing so hard, that you can't help from laughing, too, even though you don't get the joke? (Same thing with screaming, but whatever.) This was one of those moments.

"Okay… well I've got food if you guys are hungry," Fang said, setting the plastic bags on the table.

Iggy instantly was on full alert. "Food!" he yelled, jumping off the counter.

Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel circled around the table and they all started piling their plates (Iggy had found plates and silverware the night before. Don't worry. We dusted everything off.) up with Egg McMuffins, chicken biscuits, eggs, and lots and lots and lots of bacon. We flockers like us some bacon. Fang especially. Don't ask me why, but that boy has some kind of special bond with bacon. Weird, huh?

Anyways, it felt really good to be eating with my family again around a table. I didn't know what was going to happen today, but I knew that whatever happened, we would figure it out. We always did.

I took a bite of bacon and absentmindedly looked at Fang. Our eyes met, and my body went cold. I had forgotten about my dream.

I would tell him later, when the time is right. Yeah, that's it.

_** Timing isn't everything, Max.**_

Oh, shut up, Voice.

…

**Yep. Sorry this chapter was kind of meaningless, but I really liked it. I wrote a different version of this chapter and when I reread it, it just felt way too serious. Like, it made me want to lighten things up a bit. So, yeah. Reviewing would be… nice, yes? (Hehe, I got that line from the commercial for _The Princess and the Frog. _Remember? Tiana was all like, "Well, I suppose you want a kiss." And then the froggy version of Prince Naveen was like, "Kissing would be… nice, yes?" ….. What? Don't look at me like that! You saw the movie, too, you big poser!) So I'm gonna say it again. Reviewing would be… nice, yes?**


	9. PreStake Out

**AN: Yeah, yeah, you can stop giving me dirty looks. I know it's been a while. I was at church camp. Can you really be mad at me for that? Didn't think so. Alright. I won't prolong this anymore.**

**...**

"Come on, guys! Let's land back there!" I yelled over the noise of the wind. I was pointing to the back of the school, behind the dumpsters.

We swooped low, and making sure we didn't have any witnesses, we touched ground.

Gazzy was jogging in place, swinging his fists as if we were about to take on a pack of Erasers. (Lord, I hope not.) "Alright! Let's get started," he huffed.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "You know, we probably won't be physically fighting. 'Staking out' means that we sit and watch."

The Gasman frowned. "Well… if we _do_ see Erasers, we'll take them out, right?"

Fang and I shared a glance. "Of course," I said, turning back to Gazzy. "But not today."

Nudge blinked. "But we can't leave those humans in danger!"

"They're after _us_, not the _humans,_" Fang said.

"Guys," I interrupted, placing my hands on my hips. "We don't have time for this. Staking out, remember?"

"Right," they all mumbled.

"Angel, can you listen in and see if that stink-bag of a principal, _Mr. Pruitt_ is still there?"

Angel straightened up and pulled her hand to her forehead in a salute. "Ay-ay, Captain."

I gave her a smile, and then turned to Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge. "You guys need to position yourself at the main windows of the school. Nudge—you need to hide in the tree right outside the cafeteria window. Look for Erasers or anyone else suspicious. Gazzy—you take the window outside of the gym. Iggy—since you can't see," (he snorted) "you can hang out in the school parking lot and see what information you pick up. But make sure you aren't seen." Iggy nodded. "Anyone who finds anything important, send your thoughts to Angel and she'll transfer them to me."

"What about you and Fang?" Iggy asked.

"Fang and I have the hardest job. We're going to get inside information."

Fang gave me a questioning look.

"We're going to find out what the school told the student body to believe about what happened a couple of days ago."

"How're we going to do that?" Fang asked warily.

I coughed uncomfortably and looked away. "Sam," I mumbled.

Nudge and Angel giggled, Iggy and The Gasman groaned, and Fang resembled what I thought of as a very life-like statue if it weren't for the twitching of his balled fist hanging by his side.

"Why does it have to be him?" Fang said coldly.

"Because I think we can trust him."

"I don't."

I jerked back as if I'd been slapped. Did Fang not trust my judgment? "Fine," I snapped. "You can take Iggy's place. _He'll _go with me."

Fang loosened up a little then. "No. It's fine. I'll go with you."

To be truthful, I was glad. I trusted Fang, even if he didn't trust me.

My jaw tightened and I looked away. "Any questions?" I asked the flock.

They shook their heads.

"Alright. Meet back here after everyone leaves school."

...

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Please pick up, please _please_ pick up.

"Hello?"

"Sam," I sighed in relief. I wasn't sure if he'd have his phone with him, especially since school was just about to start.

"Max?"

"Yeah, hey, it's me."

"Max, I'm so glad you called! I wasn't sure if you'd forgotten to call or maybe something was wrong or-"

"Sam," I interrupted. "I can't talk right now. Meet me behind the dumpster at school, okay? Don't tell anyone that you're coming and _don't bring anyone with you._"

"Wait, you're at school?"

"Just come, okay?" And then I hung up.

I shakily let out my breath.

"Do you think he'll come?" Fang asked.

I nodded, while sinking to the ground. "Yeah. He'll be here."

Fang sat down beside me and we waited in a tense silence.

Sure enough, two minutes later, Sam came jogging up.

"Max!" he exclaimed as he saw me. I stood up and gave him a quick hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" he said, beaming at Fang and me.

"Yeah, we're fine," I mumbled awkwardly. I was standing next to Fang who was towering over Sam. Sam stood in front of me, smiling like a fool. Awkward much? For me, yes.

"How'd you remember my number?" Sam asked. "It's not still on your arm, is it?" He grabbed my hand (intertwining our fingers) and glanced down at my arm. I blushed as he took in the clean skin. I also noticed Fang's eyes on my blank arm as well. I had forgotten that I had washed it off when we had gotten to our new home.

Sam grinned. "Memorized my number, huh?"

My face turned pink. "Umm, yeah, I guess I did."

Fang was shifting uncomfortably behind me, and he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"I think we should tell Sam why we're here now," Fang grumbled.

I nodded. "Right. Umm, Sam, what were the teachers' explanations for what happened the day we left?"

Sam looked puzzled, but he didn't hesitate to answer, "They told us that there was a fire in the teacher's lounge and that it was no one's fault, but some people—meaning you guys, I guess—were spooked by it and unnecessarily over exaggerated the situation."

Fang snorted. "Then how did they explain the Eras—the mysterious vans in the front of the school?"

Sam frowned. "They said that they were just random people who saw the panic and pulled into the parking lot to see what was going on."

I rolled my eyes.

Sam looked between our expressions. "I have a feeling that they were more than just random people."

I smiled wryly. "Yeah. But we can't really tell you anything right now."

Sam smiled and squeezed my hand. "I understand," he whispered and then he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

My already-fast heart rate probably increased by like, a million. Fang was almost literally shooting lasers out of his eyes.

"Okay, uhh, thanks," I said awkwardly. "Do you think you could sneak us in the school?"

He laughed at my response before telling me that he knew a way we could sneak in the back.

He wouldn't let go of my hand as he lead us to the back entrance. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered me (actually, I probably would've enjoyed it) if it hadn't been for the fact that Fang was glaring at our backs the whole way. I didn't know what the heck his problem was. Did he not think Sam was a nice guy?

Sam led us to a door that read, "Janitor's Entrance" on it.

He turned and faced Fang and me. "Okay, I obviously have to get to class, so I hope you know your way around the school."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Sam. For everything."

"No problem. Oh, and Max," he added with a nervous blush. "If you leave again, will you call me?"

I glanced at Fang who was giving me a warning glance. I nodded slightly.

"Of course," I lied with a fake smile plastered on my face.

Sam looked relieved. "Cool."

He leaned down as if to kiss me, but Fang interrupted by clearing his throat and "accidentally" bumping into Sam in an attempt to get to the door we were standing in front of.

"Oh. Sorry," Fang said with a smirk.

Sam laughed. "No, man, its cool. It must be weird for you to see your sister with a dude. I understand."

My eyes widened. I forgot that Fang and I were supposed to be brother and sister. That's probably why Fang was acting this way. I'm like a sister to him. My stomach involuntarily dropped.

Fang looked down. "Yeah. Umm, we should go."

I smiled half-heartedly at Sam. "Bye," I said, and then walked through the Janitor's Entrance that Fang was holding open for me.

...

**Hehe, I LOVE JEALOUSY! Max is an idiot. **** What are your opinions? Did anyone else notice that I took the part about Max memorizing Sam's number from Percy Jackson & the Olympians?**


	10. Fang, the Janitor

**AN: Hello, friends. It's been too long. I feel that this chapter will be very interesting. Shall we begin? Remember, they're at the stake-out and Fang and Max just walked through the janitor's entrance.**

...

"So… Where to?" Fang asked once we were both in the poorly lit hallway filled with cleaning supplies.

"Umm… Give me a second," I breathed as I started pacing.

How are we going to play this?

I kept pacing, kept thinking, my mind still relatively blank.

I didn't see how we were going to get information without being recognized.

Unless.

Unless…. we were unrecognizable.

"I have an idea," I said, rather loudly.

Fang was watching me patiently, waiting for me to go on.

"I know this didn't work before, but this is different. These are normal people, not Erasers."

Fang raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"We could wear disguises," I explained.

Fang let out a humorless laugh. "Where are we going to get disguises?"

I nodded towards the coat rack that was nailed into the wall behind him. He turned and walked towards it.

He snatched the janitor jumpsuit and examined it. "This could maybe work," he says finally.

I grin.

"But there's only one," he adds.

Oh. Oops.

I started pacing again.

"Look, Max, how about _I _go undercover and get information and _you_ just go help Nudge or Iggy or something."

"Ha!" I snorted. "Yeah right. I'm helping whether you like it or not. The question is… How?"

Fang stepped into my path, forcing me to stop or to go around him.

Obviously, I chose to go around him. It would've worked, too, if he hadn't grabbed my shoulder and wheeled me around to face him.

"Max," he said sternly, "Calm down. I'll get as much information as I can while you just help someone else." He looked me dead in the eye and it was hard not to refuse him.

After ten agonizing seconds where I could literally feel myself melting under his gaze, I gave in. I know, I know, I'm a wuss. I need to man up. But hey, if _you _looked into those eyes, you'd be putty in his hands, too. And no, that isn't an open invitation to stare Fang down. Back off.

"Fine," I sighed, looking down at my feet. "I'll go find Nudge."

Fang dropped his hand awkwardly from where it rested on my shoulder. "Cool. I promise I'll find out as much as I can."

"Make sure no one recognizes you!" I remind him as I walk towards the door.

"I will."

"The lunchroom is a good place to pick up gossip!"

"I know."

He literally starts having to push me out the door, but I'm strong, so I maintained to keep myself in the doorway.

"Are you sure no one will recognize you?"

"I'm sure," he grunted as he tried to pry my fingers off the frame.

"Maybe a fake mustache or something would help. Don't most janitors have mustaches?"

"Max. Just. GO!" he said and with one grumble, he managed to push me back far enough to shut the door in my face.

"Okay," I call. "Be careful!"

I stand there, staring at the door, wishing I could be in on the action. Did I mention how much I hate having to sit around doing nothing?

I trudged back up the hill and started making my way around the school to the tree near the cafeteria. I had to be very careful, making sure that I don't walk too close to any windows. You never know when Mr. Pruitt decides to glare out the window in search of some poor child to abuse.

As I neared the tree, I noticed how very well Nudge was hiding. I couldn't see one stinkin' trace of that girl!

"Knock knock," I called up into the thick tree's branches.

"Max?" Nudge's voice carried down to me, though I still had no idea where she was.

"Yeah, hey, change of plans. I'm hanging with you today. Is that cool?"

"Of course it's cool! Come on up!"

Suddenly, Nudge's head peeps around a particularly large branch. She was laying on top of it and peering out towards the cafeteria windows.

I started grabbing on to the sturdy branches and hauling myself up the tree, looking for a branch that could support my weight and also hide me from a passerby's eye.

Finally, I found a good enough limb and tentatively crawled out on it.

"So what changed your plans?" Nudge asked once I was settled.

I shrugged. "There was only one janitor's outfit."

She looked confused, and I couldn't help but laugh at her expression.

"Fang and I were going to dress up as janitors so that we could go around the school unnoticed," I explained, "but there was only one outfit."

"Oh," was Nudge's only response.

A few seconds tick by, then Nudge bursts out into laughter. She has to wrap her arms around her branch so she doesn't fall out of the tree.

"What? What's so funny?"

Nudge wipes tears away from her eyes. "Fang," she giggles, "in a janitor's outfit."

I frowned, trying to picture the strange sight in my head. I see Fang's head first, capped in a blue hat. That alone is enough to set one's laughter off. But then if you move down to his body—his fit, muscular, relatively skinny body—clothed in a baggy blue jumpsuit usually meant for men on the larger side, covered in stains from the sloppy job that is required, with that small patch where the janitor's name is usually sewn in. Probably something generic like "Carl" or "Joe".

I, too, am shaking with laughter.

"I told him to wear a mustache so that no one will recognize him," I told Nudge.

We pause, then after adding this to the already hilarious picture in our head, break out into an even fuller laughter.

"If he's not wearing black, no one will recognize him," Nudge muses after the laughter died down.

"That's probably true," I admit.

That's about the most exciting thing that happened all day. We stayed up in the tree, waiting for lunch hour, and when it came, there was nothing to see. Just a typical day at school. I hoped that the others had better luck.

"Well," I sighed as the last of the buses drove away, "I guess we should head back then."

We shimmied down the tree and took a second to stretch our stiff muscles.

Once we were relatively able to move, we walked back to the dumpsters.

We were apparently the last ones to arrive.

"So, who thinks they've got anything good?" I said once we were all facing each other in a sort of circle.

"Me! Me!" Angel trills, jumping up and down with her hand in the air.

"Alright, Ange, take it away," I said with a smile.

"Okay. Well first off, do you remember Mr. Lazzara, the librarian?"

I nodded, remembering him. He was my favorite teacher, although technically he never taught any lessons or anything. I remembered that he was in the teacher's lounge the day that I ran in there for safety and ended up being attacked by a few "teachers" who turned out to be Erasers. Mr. Lazzara was one of the few who actually tried to help me fight them off.

"Well," Angel continued, "He went to the School Board and got Mr. Pruitt fired immediately."

I blinked. I was definitely not expecting that.

"Wow," Iggy mumbled. "That's good news for sure. He never liked me…"

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe that's because you were always trying to blow up the school."

Iggy smirked.

Angel sighed impatiently, reminding me very much that she is a five year old girl who very much needs attention. It's hard to tell that she's so young sometimes.

"I'm sorry," I said, shooting a glance at Iggy and forgetting that he couldn't see it. "Continue."

So she did. She told us that the Eraser teachers left as soon as we did. No more Erasers in the school as far as we can tell. Angel told us that most of the teachers believed that messed up story that Sam had told Fang and me.

I nodded when she was through. "Good. That gives us a better chance of getting back into school. Good job, Angel."

She smiled sweetly at me and my heart squeezed.

"Anyone else?"

Fang met my eyes. "I didn't pick up anything suspicious while being a janitor." Nudge and I couldn't help it. We both let out a few snickers before we composed our faces again.

"That's it?" I asked, ignoring the suspicious look Fang was shooting at Nudge and me.

"Nothing besides your average, teenage gossip."

"Same here," Iggy added.

"All _I_ did was watch people run laps in the gym. Nothing weird about that."

"Okay," I said. "We still need to somehow… I don't know, get information or something. From students."

Iggy's head jerks up. "I know!"

"What?"

"Let's go to tonight's football game!"

I pause, completely taken aback. "Football game?" I ask incredulously. "Seriously?"

Iggy nodded furiously. "Yeah, yeah, it's perfect! There'll be so many people there, we'll be sure to fit in. We can talk up some random folks and enjoy ourselves at the same time!"

Everyone agrees that this is brilliant.

Well then. Looks like the flockers are going to be showing some school spirit.

…

**Ok, I know I haven't updated in like… FOREVER, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. I wrote it a couple different other ways, but I just couldn't seem to make up my mind on which I thought was best. Anyways, I finished writing this very late at night, and when I looked at the clock, it was 11:11! You know what that means! I made a wish! You know what it was? I wished for lots and lots of reviews. So will you help my wish come true? Pwease?**


	11. Credit Card Catastrophe

**Wow. This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Hot dog. **

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"Oh, Max, that's _so _hot!" Nudge squealed.

"Really?" I asked, embarrassed.

Nudge had dragged me to the nearest Target to make me try on clothes. Apparently, I have to look good for a football game. She said it was just so no one would recognize me, but I have a feeling it was also because she wanted to see me wearing something other than T-shirts.

"Totally!"

I gazed at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a fitted v-neck with a matching floral skirt. Not really my style, but it was better than the tube-tops and mini-skirts that Nudge suggested I wore. Yeah, like _that's _ever gonna happen.

"Do I really have to get it though? I mean, at least not the skirt. I don't do floral."

Nudge grinned evilly. "Sam will like it," she cooed.

I raised a brow, but couldn't stop myself from blushing. "Sam likes me for me, not for what I wear."

Nudge rolled her eyes. "Fine. We won't get the skirt. But you _have_ to get skinny jeans at least! You've got a nice butt!"

I laughed. "Wow. Thanks for noticing?"

She shrugs. "No problem."

We walked out of the dressing room and handed back the clothes that I decided against. (So pretty much anything pink, frilly, or said "JUICY" across the butt was out.) I had about three pairs of skinny jeans and five tops left. Nudge calls it "a good start." Ha!

Nudge also decides that I need new shoes. What's wrong with my old boots? She led me directly over to the high heels.

"Uh-uh. No way," I said, holding out my hands as if I could push it all away.

"Oh, come on, Max! You'll look great in heels!"

"Nope. Nadda. Not going to happen."

"Well you can't wear those old ugly boots with the cute outfits you now have! They'll totally clash!" she objects.

"I'll get shoes, but not heels."

Nudge crossed her arms and huffs at me like I'm the most stubborn person in the world. I'm okay with that.

I walked through the aisles of shoes, none particularly catching my eye. I finally turn onto the last row and grin.

Converse hightops. Yes.

I tried on the black pair, size nine and a half. They fit perfectly.

I stuffed them back into the box.

"Kay, Nudge. Let's go!" I call.

Nudge emerged from two aisles down and walks over to me.

"Converse? I should've known…" she mutters, glancing down at my box.

We stepped into the check out line, arguing about my taste in anything fashion related. I wasn't paying any attention to the lady behind the counter or anything else for that matter.

Nudge pulled out a credit card and hands it to the woman, commenting on how I have as much fashion sense as a man off the streets.

I almost didn't notice.

Almost.

Luckily, the woman tilted the plastic card just right, so that the light reflected off of it, catching my attention.

"Wait!" I yelled, a little too loud, lunging for the credit card. I snatched it from the lady's hands. Now that I'm paying attention to everything and everyone around me, I see that her name is Natasha, as it is stated on the nametag she wore.

Natasha and Nudge looked at me with big eyes. Actually, everyone in every check out lane is looking at me with big eyes. I must have caused a big scene.

I laughed nervously. "Oops," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Wrong credit card. That's the one my parents gave me for emergencies only. They would've like totally killed me!" I tried my hardest to sound like a dramatic teenage girl.

Apparently it worked. Everyone went back to what they were doing.

I took the wallet from Nudge and carefully tucked the credit card back into one of the slots. I then pulled out a different credit card and handed it to Natasha.

Nudge opened her mouth, about to ask me what had just happened. I shook my head slightly, to let her know that I'd tell her later.

Natasha handed my card back, along with the check.

"Thank you for your purchases," she said, still a little shaken. "Have a nice day."

I smiled apologetically. "You too."

Nudge and I quickly headed for the door and as soon as we were out of earshot, Nudge asked, "What was that all about?"

"_That was Anne's credit card,_" I hiss.

Nudge blinks. "So what?"

I spun around to face her. We were around the back of Target, where we had landed.

"Do you know how easy it is to track a credit card?"

Nudge shook her head.

"_Really_ easy. She could've found out where and when we used it. She would know that we never even left town."

Understanding crossed over Nudge's face. "Oh. That would've been bad."

"Yeah. _Really_ bad."

If I hadn't have noticed it, who knows how long it would've taken the Erasers to find us. All because I was distracted.

I shook my head. "Come on. Let's just go home."

Nudge didn't even hesitate. She launches into the air smoothly and keeps low, waiting for me. I joined her and we started towards the house.

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"Way to go, Max!" The Gasman exclaimed, holding out his hand for a high-five.

I had just told everyone else about the credit card incident.

"Come on! Don't leave me hangin'!"

"Gazz, this is serious," I told him.

His smile faded and his arm dropped to his side. He sunk down into the couch, glumly, next to Iggy.

"Well, what do you think we should do about it?" Fang asked.

I held my head up a little higher. "I have a plan. It'll have to be followed through tonight."

"Wait, wait, wait," Iggy said, waving his hands. "We're missing the football game?"

"Not necessarily. I think we should have a group of people go with my plan, while the rest go to the game."

"I'm going to the game," everyone said at once.

I took a deep breath. "This job won't be easy," I started, knowing exactly who I was targeting, "but it needs to be done. It's like they'd have their own… secret mission."  
Gazzy was literally bouncing up and down. "OH! Oh! I want my own secret mission!"

I leaned towards him, with a serious expression across my face. "Do you think you can handle it?"

He nodded quite vigorously.

I sighed. "Alright. But I'm trusting you with this. You can't fail me."

He smiled. "I won't! I won't fail you, Max! You can count on me!"

"Good," I replied. "So here's the plan: You fly as far north as you possibly can in one night, then you find a big city. Find a homeless person—"

"_What?_" Fang interrupted.

I shot him a look. "Chill. I'm getting there." I looked back at Gazzy, who was completely absorbed in what I was saying.

I cleared my throat. "Find a homeless person. Anyone who looks like they need some money. Give them Anne's card and tell them to go crazy. Tell them they can buy whatever they want, but they only have one day to spend it. Then they need to throw it away. Got it?"

"Got it," he replied breathlessly.

Fang looked at me. "Alright, I guess that makes sense. But why do they only have one day to spend?"

"Because if Anne's smart, she'll send Erasers as soon as she can. We don't want anyone to get hurt, so we don't want anyone caught with that card. This way she'll think that we were in that city for a while, then we left, ditching the card completely." I smiled, very proud of myself for coming up with such a complex plan.

"That's brilliant!" Iggy told me, grasping my shoulder and giving it a shake.

"I want to go with Gazzy," Angel said unexpectedly.

"Angel! Don't crash my solo mission!" Gazzy complained.

"I won't! Just think of me as your sidekick."

I decided to let him decide if he wanted a sidekick, since it was his special mission. I knew that he would say yes. No one can say no to Angel.

"Okay, you can come," he sighed eventually.

"Well, you better leave now. It'll be dark soon and you need to get a head start," I told them.

We all walked out to the front door.

"Bye guys!" Gazzy called over his shoulder as he and Angel spread their wings for takeoff.

"Be careful!" I yelled to them. "Don't go too far! Don't make eye contact with anyone! Look out for each other!"

"We've got it, Max!" Angel shouted back.

They gained altitude quickly, and pretty soon, they were gone from our sight.

I sighed. "They grow up so fast," I said sarcastically, pretending to be choking up.

"Every chick has to leave the nest," Fang replied, patting my back comfortingly.

We stood there for a few more minutes in a comfortable silence. It was nice.

"Okay, Max! Time to get ready for the game!" Nudge called through the door.

There goes my few minutes of relaxation.

"Already? We still have, like, an hour before we have to go!" I complain.

Nudge groaned dramatically. "Max! That's not enough time for hair, make-up, clothing, and accessories! We have to get started _now!_"

I straightened up and turned around to face Nudge.

Was she serious?

The look on her face confirmed what I did not want to hear.

Fang gave me the most devilish smile. "Makeup? I'd like to see _that._"

I gave him a good solid punch in the arm. "Oh, shut up. It's just so I won't be recognized."

Fang and Iggy snickered.

"And," Nudge added, "So that she'll be more appealing to the male sex when she pries information from them." She had a mysterious look on her face, and she kept eyeing Fang.

Iggy continued to snicker, but Fang had stopped.

I looked at his expression. He looked… stunned. Mad. Confused.

I sighed. It must be that brother stuff again. Just thinking about it made me sick.

"Alright. Let's just get this over with," I said to Nudge.

She led me up the stairs and into a bathroom full of makeup galore.

Dear God, kill me now.

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**Haha, Max is so dramatic. And dumb, for that matter. Brother stuff? Really? I hardly think that Fang is capable of brotherly affection. I can't wait to post the next chapter. It's going to be fantabulous! Oh my gosh! I just typed "fantabulous" and my computer didn't put that red squiggly line under it! It also didn't put a red squiggly line under the word "squiggly"! Fantabulous is a real word! Squiggly is a real word! I'm going to find the definitions right now, just because I'm so freakin' excited about it! Hold on…**

**Fantabulous**- adjective _slang_

_Extremely fine or desirable; excellent; wonderful._

**Squiggly**- noun

_A short, irregular curve or twist, as in writing or drawing._

Well shoot. I learned something new.


	12. Wreck 'Em, Rams!

**AN: Ow. I am writing this after I played guitar. My fingers are hurting so badly that they're numb. Not cool, folks, not cool. Anyways, I'm SO excited about this chapter! Ooh, it's gonna be good. You'll see. You'll ALL see. * evil chuckle * **

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I stared coldly at the girl directly across from me. She stared coldly back. I narrowed my eyes. She did as well. This girl. This girl who acted like me, but wasn't like me at all. It. Was. Not. Me.

"Having a staring competition with yourself?" Nudge laughed, looking at me. The _real _me. Not the imposter in the mirror.

"Nudge," I groaned. "It's too much. I can't handle all this makeup!"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop being so dramatic! You're gorgeous! Fa—uhh, Sam will just _die_ the first time he gets a look at you!"

I opened my mouth, about to question what she almost said, but she wouldn't have it.

"Max! Don't talk! I… uhh… need to… fix your lip gloss!"

I glared at her, but obeyed. As she worked on my lip gloss (shudder), I examined myself in the mirror again. My hair was down, and with it being straightened, it got a solid two inches added to it. My dark brown eyes were very noticeable with the help of the eyeliner and mascara. The color of my eye shadow brought out the little bit of gold in them. I looked down at myself. I was wearing a purple, low cut, v-neck top that hugged my curves nicely. I also wore my black skinny jeans and black hightops.

I really did look good. I'm not going to lie. But… it just wasn't me.

I sighed, knowing that there was no way on Earth that Nudge was ever going to let me scrape this crap off my face.

"Okay! Finished!" she squealed, stepping away. "Oh, Max, you're so pretty. I wish you would just accept it."

I smirked. "Who's being dramatic _now_?"

"Whatever. It's time to go, anyways." She left the bathroom quickly, with me on her heels.

We trudged down the stairs, where Fang and Iggy were waiting for us.

I met Fang's eyes. He opened his mouth slightly and his eyes widened considerably.

I could feel the blood creeping into my face. Hopefully he would think it was just part of the makeup.

Nudge and I reached the bottom of the stairs and we stood in front of the boys awkwardly.

"Doesn't Max look good?" Nudge asked Fang innocently. I could see right through it.

I shot her a death glare.

"Umm," Fang gulped, "Uh-huh."

Nice, Fang. Nice.

"Alright. Let's go," I said, not pausing for a fraction of a second. I grabbed the leather jacket that Nudge had also forced me to buy (apparently I'm not allowed to wear sweatshirts anymore) and strutted out the door.

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As we walked up the path along with all the other people that were attending the game, I noticed all of the banners and signs that said things like, "Go Remington Rams!" and "Remington Rules!"

I laughed as guys ran by, whooping, with green and gold painted chests. Oh, the amusements of high school males.

"Should we split up?" Iggy whispered to me.

"That's probably a good idea," I whispered back.

"I'll go with Max, you can go with Nudge," Fang cut in.

I looked at him curiously. I would've thought that he would go with Iggy and I would go with Nudge, but it didn't really matter to me.

"Okay, we'll meet you back here after the game," I said to Iggy and Nudge.

"Cool, see you then," Iggy said as he and Nudge started towards the stands. Nudge looked back at me and gave a quick wink.

What did that mean?

"Where do you want to go?" Fang asked after a while.

I let out my breath. "Let's go support our team."

Fang smirked. "The stands it is, then."

We made our way into the stands, where we found a good spot right in the middle. I noticed all of the people around us that stopped and looked at us.

The stands were packed to say at the very least. Apparently, football was really popular at this school.

We waited another fifteen minutes for the game to start.

The cheerleaders came out finally and tried to get the crowd riled up. Fang and I didn't participate in the cheers, but the people around us were really getting into it.

"Rams! Are you ready?" the cheerleaders chanted.

This was met by very loud cheers and a lot of people stood up.

The cheerleaders split into two groups, holding a banner between them. It said, "Wreck 'em, Rams!"

"Wow," Fang muttered. "Original."

I laughed.

Fang's eyes shot to my face and he smiled. I was caught off guard; Fang's smiles aren't exactly something you'd see every day.

I looked away quickly, focusing now on the football team that had just run straight through the banner.

"Go Rams," I said under my breath.

The game started. I don't know a lot about football, but I know enough to see that the other team was getting their butt kicked very, very badly. The Rams are apparently very vicious.

I started to notice a group of guys from in front of us. They kept sneaking glances at me and Fang, trying to make it look like they were casually cracking their backs or looking at the scoreboard. But I knew better.

The first thought that came to my mind was that maybe they were Erasers. Eventually, though, I realized that they were just checking me out.

Something hit me: This could be my chance to get information from someone on the inside.

"Hey," I said, turning to Fang. I tried to make my voice as nonchalant as possible. "I'm hungry. Do you think you could run to the concession stand and grab us a couple of hotdogs?"

Okay, it's true, I was just trying to get rid of him, but hey, can you blame me? If he stayed while I flirted it up with those guys, he would be on overload brotherly protectiveness mode. I definitely couldn't have that.

Fang studied my face carefully, looking for a hidden clue in my words. I tried my hardest to be unreadable.

Finally, he just shrugged and stood up. I watched him walk away, feeling completely guilty. But hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I waited patiently for one of the guys to look back at me again.

Soon enough, one did. He glanced at me, then at Fang's empty seat, then back at me. I gave him a very flirtatious smile.

He turned back around and whispered to his buds. A few moments later, they all cautiously walked up to me.

There were four of them. They were your typical school boy: medium height, broad-shouldered, and decently attractive.

I smiled at them again.

One of them stepped closer to me.

"Hey," he said with a smirk. "I'm Jamie."

"Hi, Jamie. I'm Ma—Maddie."

Jamie grinned. "Is it cool if me and my guys sit here?" He gestured towards the empty seats to my right.

"Go for it."

He hesitates. "Your boyfriend coming back?"

I let loose a fake laugh, and am shocked by how at ease it sounds. Man, I'm good at this. "He's _not_ my boyfriend."

"Sure. But is he coming back?"

I look him in the eye. "He's not here now, is he?"

Jamie smiles, then sits down right in Fang's spot. I needed to make this quick, so that Fang wouldn't see them. I hoped that there was a really, _really _long line at the concession stand.

Jamie's friends sat down around me.

"This is Hank," he says, pointing to his friend that sat in front of me. "That's Brad and that's Kyle." He pointed at the two guys sitting on my other side.

I nodded and gave them each a flirty smile.

"So have you been watching the game?" I asked Jamie. I figured I should talk to him, since he seems to be the leader of this group.

He shrugged. "A little. But I don't come here for the game." It's obvious that he means that he comes to check out girls. Real nice. _Real_ nice.

"So do you go to Remington? I don't think I've seen you around," I said, giving him my prettiest smile.

"I could say the same about you," he replied huskily. "But yeah, I go to Remington."

I nod. "Same here. Usually things around here are pretty dull… Except last week with that fire in the teacher's lounge… That was pretty crazy, huh?" I tried to act like I was just making small talk while inside I was dying to shake the truth right out of him.

Jamie looked at me thoughtfully. "Yeah, that was… different." Something changed in his expression then. I thought it might be that he was hiding information from me, so I kept up my act.

"Sometimes I feel like there was more to the story than they were telling us," I mused innocently. I looked up at him through my mascara covered eyelashes.

Jamie hesitated.

_Come on,_ I thought impatiently, _Just tell me!_

I leaned in, eager for what he was about to tell me.

Jamie leaned in, too.

"Do you want to know something?" he whispered to me.

_This is it! He's going to tell me!_

"Yes," I whispered back.

His lips were almost touching my ear. He whispered slowly, carefully…

"You're really hot."

And before I knew what was going on, he turned my head and kissed me, full on.

Just before I could shove him away, just before I was going to kick his butt, I hear someone yelling at me.

And I knew who it was.

"_What the heck, Max?_"

Fang.

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**Yes! I told you that I liked this chapter! The next chapters going to be good, too. Max is gonna get it BAD. Haha, Fang being on "overload brotherly protectiveness mode". Max. Is. Dumb. I like how I keep saying that, but really, I can control if she's dumb or not. Oh well.**


	13. Screw Brotherly Affection

**AN: Stupid Microsoft Word and it's stupid settings. I don't like Microsoft Word. I want to be rid of it! Ack. Hey, guys, your reviews for the last chapter were AWESOME! Totally made my day. I told you that you were going to like that chapter! * sticks out tongue ***

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Fang grabbed the back of Jamie's shirt and yanked him off of me.

"Stay away from her!" he growled and hurled him away.

I watched in horror as Jamie rolled, flopped, and crashed into people, trying to break his fall.

He reached the bottom, slamming into the fence that kept him from landing directly on the cheerleaders. He yelped and cradled his right arm. His friends raced after him and helped him up. They scurried out of there as if their lives depended on it. It probably did.

Fang advanced down the stairs, going to confront him again.

Luckily, I was on my feet in a second and sprinting after him. We were ten feet away from the stands now, and Fang stormed around the back, following Jamie and his friends.

"Fang, no wait, don't!" I cried, grabbing his arm.

He pulled it out of my grasp and without turning to face me, he hissed, "Don't even, Max. I'll deal with you later."

A wave of fury crashed down on me. What gave him the right to talk to me like that? I didn't do anything wrong.

"You'll _deal_ with me _now_," I replied, putting as much acid into my voice as I could.

Fang spun around. "What were you doing?" His voice was barely a whisper, but I could hear the anger in it. And the hurt.

"I was just trying to get information." I tried to sound confident, but it came out sounding weak and feeble.

"Were you, now?" he said sarcastically. His eyes were full of resentment, towards me or Jamie, I'm not sure. Fang was shaking now, rage vibrating in the air surrounding us. I had never seen him so upset. It scared me very much.

I took a step back, breathing deeply. He was very intimidating. And very, _very_ hot.

He took a step closer to me.

I took another step back.

He took another step closer to me.

I kept backing up, him always the same distance away, until my back was against the stands. We were underneath it now, underneath all of the unknowing fans.

Fang kept coming until he was just inches from me.

I looked up at him, my heart practically leaping out of my chest.

"You have no idea, do you?" Fang whispered to me. I shivered.

I shook my head, not knowing what he was referring to.

"Why'd you do it?" he choked out, looking away.

"Fang, I didn't kiss him. _He _kissed _me._ Sure, I was flirting with him a lot, but only because I was trying to get information about the day the Erasers attacked school, and I guess I took the flirting a little too far… But I would've broken off the kiss if you hadn't freaking _flung _him! The poor guy is probably going to file a law suit!"

Fang looked into my eyes, trying to detect truth in my words.

"It… It made me mad… Seeing him kiss you," he stuttered, as if he wasn't sure _why _it had made him mad.

I sighed. I hated my next words, but I said them because I was completely convinced that they were true. "I know. I guess since I'm like a sister to you, it would make sense why it would make you mad. You're kind of like an overprotective big brother."

I regretted the words as soon as I said them.

Fang staggered back, the strangest look of pain in his eyes. He looked away.

"You think I'm like a big brother?" he asked harshly, his back to me.

I didn't answer, because I couldn't say that I did. I thought of him as way, way, more than a big brother. But I couldn't tell him that.

Then, before I could do anything about it, he turned back around and came flying at me, pinning me to the back of the stands, his arms on either side of my head.

My breath hitched in my chest, and I stood there, waiting.

Fang was so close. So, so close. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think.

Slowly, never breaking our gaze, he leaned down until our foreheads were touching.

"Do brothers do this?" he whispered, tilting his head.

And then our lips met.

We were kissing.

Screw the overprotective brother thing. I was definitely _not _feeling brotherly vibes from him. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I couldn't help it. I kissed him back. He was just so… so…

Well, long story short, that was when I realized that I had feelings for him. _Real _feelings. Feelings that were past an innocent crush, or just thinking that he was hot. I mean, don't get me wrong! He was _totally_ hot, but now I was attracted to him for more than just his body. I was craving his whole being.

My hands were resting limply on his chest, but in order to kiss him closer, I reached up and put them behind his head. His arms dropped and his hands rested on my hips, holding me firmly. Then they slid up onto my back, holding me closer to him. I froze, thinking of how he kissed the Red-Haired Wonder exactly the same.

Was this just a game to him?

Did he actually like me, or was he just playing with my emotions?

I turned my head then, ending the kiss, and not meeting his eyes. I panted for breath, hearing Fang doing the same. I didn't think I could go on with this. It was too much, too fast. I needed to get my thoughts in line first.

Fang pulled back a little, giving me some room to breathe, but his arms were still around me.

"Well," he started, "that was… interesting."

My face flushed.

"Uh, yeah. I think I'm just going back to the game now," I breathed, still not meeting his eyes. I tried to push past him, to make my getaway quick.

But he caught my wrist, and gently tugged me back to him.

"Wait," he said to me in a deep voice, "What does this… What does this mean?"

I finally brought my eyes to his. I tried to detect any hidden meaning in his words.

Was he looking for an out?

I mean, what, did my kiss not live up to his _expectations?_ Ha! I'm not _good enough_ for him?

Hurt clouded up my judgment as I made my quick response, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. We don't ever have to bring this up ever again."

My eyes started to sting, threatening to let loose the waterworks that would wound my reputation forever.

Before tears could fall, I broke away from Fang and ran. I ran and ran and ran, praying that he wouldn't follow me.

He didn't.

I made sure I was far, far away for anyone to see me before I launched myself carelessly into the humid air, tears clouding my vision.

_Screw him!_ Screw him and his entire seductive existence!

He. Ruined. Everything.

_**Max, you are overreacting once again. Fang has no intentions of using you. He cares about you, and you him. Can you not just accept that? **_

"Oh, freaking _STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!_" I yelled, grabbing my head.

And the thing is, I wasn't sure if I was yelling at the Voice… or Fang.

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**Well, there you have it folks. I hope that was romantic enough for 'ya. To tell you the truth—and this is kind of strange to admit to the entire world—but I've never actually had anything remotely CLOSE to romance in my life. I don't know what the crap I'm writing about. Sorry if it sucked. Well, you know what, YOUR MOTHER WAS A HAMSTER AND YOUR FATHER SMELLS OF ELDEBERRIES. Oh yeah. I went there. ;D I'll give a special shout out to whoever can tell me what that's from! (Not you, marcie13 or -WORLD OF NEW-, because I know that you know. Sorry. Tough love.)**

**Oh, and by the way, umm…. Review or I will unleash the power of the Force upon you. Yep, that's right. Me and the Force are tight. I can control it. It can crush you. So review before I crush your throat in a total Darth Vader style.**


	14. Gives Me Hope

**AN: Okay, it was **_**really **_**hard to write this chapter. Seriously, like, I hate chapters like this. I just don't feel like I'm very good with the whole mushy gooey stuff like this. * shudder * But I'm gonna try. Oh! And I'm also gonna try to answer my reviewers now. Yeah, I know, I'm a loser, but I've seen other authors do it and I'm gonna give it a try. **

**maispecialk: **Yes indeed. Fang is a hottie. ^-^

**Somers girl: **I'm glad you like my story! That makes me happy. :) And yes, Fang should be pitied. He's a poor, misunderstood soul.

**Maxridelover123: **Ahhhh thank you for loving my story! Haha. ;)

**chickenchick: **Max thinks too much, so it's just like her to misinterpret Fang. Plus, I just thought it would be funny to see her get all offended… I'm a mean person. :(

**Soccergal12: **Yes! I surprised you! And of course I updated last chapter before you left! Pssh, I do everything for my readers! ;D

**whatever: **Haha, yeah, I was trying to make Fang show a soft side. I guess it's just a fantasy of mine… ;) And I really love writing as the Voice! I don't know, it just makes me feel smart.

**Bubbley-chan: **Duh, it would be too simple! :D I love putting Max and Fang on the rocks. Plus, I'm still figuring out how to make them admit their feelings… It'll have to be really dramatic…

**emotionalpoemgirl: **Exactly! Finally someone who understands! Thanks for being one of my most consistent reviewers. I love you for it! 3

**not bitter just twisted: **Clueless Max is probably the most fun to write. (And the most frustrating…) I like your idea about the Red-Haired Wonder/Lissa… I'll see if I can use it! If you don't mind, that is… And it's okay to be carried away in reviews! Trust me, it's a lot more interesting to read. ;)

**World of New\Shelly: **A shout out is just where the author mentions/features someone in their story. Yeah. Oh, by the way, Shelly, I like your username. Maybe you should stop changing it and just stick with the one you have. Just a thought. :)

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I flew for so long, just trying not to think. I didn't want to worry about Gazzy and Angel, I didn't want to feel uncomfortable about my makeup, I didn't want to ponder about how I was going to get us back into school. And most of all, I most certainly _did not _want to think about anything that was remotely close to reminding me of Fang. Which was pretty much _everything._ You see now why I was just trying not to think in general.

Eventually, I figured I would have to go back to the house. The others would be worried. Not that I cared if _Fang _was worried, but I didn't want any stress to come upon the rest of them.

I clumsily landed in front of it and stumbled up to the porch. Feeling exhausted, I sat down on the top step and rested my head on the railing.

"Max?" Angel's soft, sweet voice drifted to me.

I turned and looked at her and The Gasman standing in the doorframe.

"Hey," I called weakly to them, motioning for them to sit with me.

Angel skipped forward and plopped down a step below me, turning to study my sullen face. Gazzy sat down right next to me, exchanging a concerned glance with Angel.

_Come on, Max. Pull it together! These kids look up to you. You need to suck up your sappy feelings and be the leader again!_ I thought to myself, sternly.

I mentally slapped myself for being such a wimp. I needed to keep in mind the others' needs before my own.

"So," I started, trying to keep a light expression, "How did the mission go? You guys are back kind of early, aren't you?"

The Gasman frowned, and looked at me more closely. I tried not to break under his gaze.

"Max, it's almost two in the morning," he told me slowly, as if I was crazy.

I shook my head, not believing that I had been flying that long. Huh. I guess time flies when you try not to think.

"Right, uhh, yeah," I said intelligibly.

"But the mission went great!" Angel added.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

The Gasman smiled, all traces of anxiety leaving his face immediately. "We flew up to Pittsburg," he began, but smiled when he saw me raise my eyebrows. "Yeah, we were fast. We made it all the way to Pittsburg and found this amazing homeless lady. She had _seven kids!_ They were all living in this alley. It was so sad, I practically ran to them to give them the credit card! The woman was so thankful, Max. I gave her the card, told her about her deadline, and she hugged us and left with her children, headed for the nearest convenience store. I wish you could've seen her face… It was so sad. Can you imagine? Having to raise and protect kids without all of the needed necessities of life?"

_Yeah, _I thought bitterly, _I know a thing or two about that._

I sucked in a deep breath and smiled at Gazzy. "That's great, you guys. That woman is going to be eternally grateful. You just gave her and her family hope."

Angel and Gazzy hugged me on either side. I held them close to me and squeezed my eyes shut, enjoying every moment that I could spend with them. "Yeah, it was nice. It just reminded me that you have taken care of us ever since Jeb left. And I want _you _to know that _we're _eternally grateful." Angel pulled back and smiled.

My heart squeezed. That was probably the sweetest thing that anyone has ever told me.

My throat closed up. "Thanks, you guys," I croaked.

Gazzy rubbed my back. "Everyone needs to be needed sometimes," he stated simply.

I ruffled his hair.

"Well I'm going to go to bed now," he sighed, stifling a yawn. He gave me a pointed look. "You should, too."

"Okay, I promise I will. I'll just be out here a little longer," I whispered to him, noticing that Angel was literally falling asleep against my leg.

"Good night," he murmured, then tiptoed back into the house.

I heaved a sigh and pulled drowsy Angel into my lap.

Hugging her close, I realized that it didn't matter what Fang and I were. He was a part of my family and he always would be. Families fight, families break. But not this one. We're a whole new kind of family. We don't give up so easily.

It was moments like this, hugging my baby and feeling appreciated, that I got a whole new sense of life. Things were looking up.

Angel yawned and snuggled closer to me.

It was moments just like these that gave me hope.

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O**k, so this was mostly a filler chapter, but whatever. Oh, and this chapter was inspired by the website givesmehope . com . Check it out, it always makes me really happy.**


	15. Cold Beefaroni and Cold Shoulders

**AN: Hey, guys. Sorry about not updating sooner! I've been oober busy lately. (WHAT? Microsoft Word just told me that "oober" isn't a word! HA! That shows what YOU know, Microsoft Word! It IS a word. It is! Microsoft Word is out to get me. I need to prepare for battle.) Anyways, I just started a story on fictionpress, if any of you are on there. You should check it out. My username is wishing-for-wings, so just look it up and read my story, review, then be gone! It's that simple.**

**World of New**: I wanted you to change your name from mashelby or whatever the crap it was. And I wanted you to get a good name and stick with it! It bothers me when people change their names too much. So there. :P

**awkweird ideas lead to. this**: I feel like if Max gave in, she wouldn't be Max, you know? I mean, Fang's been kissing her throughout the whole series and she hasn't given in until the last two books. And yes, I know that Fang is not "a seducer" as you put it, but that's just Max's imagination getting carried away. She doesn't know what to do with her feelings, so her mind reels and turns it into something else. And I don't think that that seen was a part of my "evil thoughts", I actually thought it was quite adorable. Sorry.

**MisticHorse**: Yay! I'm glad you like it so far!

**Maxi66**: I know, right? "Sax" just sounds awkward. Don't worry, I'm getting to the Fax.

**emotionalpoemgirl**: Thanks! I thought it was pretty darn adorable myself. ;D

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I woke up feeling like poop. Really. It took me like, three freaking ours to get to sleep, and then when I finally _did _get to sleep, I had that dream about Fang's mom again, which reminded me that I still had to tell Fang about it, which reminded me that I was mad at him, which reminded me that my life was one big steaming pile of crap. Thank you, world, for never failing to make my life suck more and more each and every day.

How could I tell Fang about what I _thought_ was his mom? I mean, would I just say, _"Oh, hey, Fang. What's up? Oh yeah, that's right, you don't like me right now because you kissed me last night and then you regretted it and so I had to run off crying! Good times, good times… Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I've been having a recurring dream about YOUR MOM and I'm pretty sure that this is her house. Surprise!"_

"Max, what's for breakfast?" Nudge asked as I treaded heavily down the stairs.

I yawned. "Uhh, whatever we have, I guess."

"All we have is Chef Boyarde."

"Perfect," I mumbled, grabbing myself one from the cupboard. I opened it and started eating it straight out of the can. Mmm. Beefaroni.

Nudge shrugged. "Okay. But we need to go to the store soon. How are we going to pay for groceries if we don't have Anne's credit card?"

"We still have the one that the Voice gave us," I said through a big mouthful of food.

Nudge scrunched up her nose. "Lovely," she commented.

I smiled, still with food in my mouth, making her look away in disgust.

A few minutes later, we were joined by Iggy, then Angel, then The Gasman. They each grabbed their own can of Chef Boyarde, and we all sat at the table and chatted and ate breakfast like a normal happy family. (Ha!)

My stomach was in a flurry as I dreaded Fang's arrival in the breakfast room. What would I say to him? Was he mad at me? Should I just act like everything is normal?

Angel smiled sympathetically at me from the other end of the table.

Oh crap.

She knew.

_**It's okay, Max. I'm not gonna tell anybody. I just want you and Fang to work things out, because I don't like it when you guys fight.**_

I did my best to put on a reassuring face, saying back to her in my head, _**Don't worry, Ange, we'll figure it out. **_

She smiled again, this time it reached her eyes.

"What's for breakfast?" a husky voice asked from the entrance of the breakfast room.

Fang.

I tried to hide the panic from my voice as I coolly replied, "Chef Boyarde. I think there's a ravioli left." I was proud of myself.

"My favorite," he said back as he walked over to get himself one, not once even glancing in my direction.

He came back to the table, can and fork in hand, and saw that the only chair left was next to me. He sat down, finally, but made sure that it was as far as possible away from me.

Ouch.

"So what's on the agenda for today, Max?" Angel asked, trying to break the tense silence that had settled in the room.

I shot her a grateful glance, happy to have something to talk about. "Well," I started, "I thought we could go by the school and ask if they would take us back. You know, the reason we're still here is for us to attend school, so why put it off any longer?"

Everyone mumbled their agreements, and Fang even breathed, "Brilliant," under his breath. But I had a feeling he was being more sarcastic than truthful.

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"Max," Fang said, trying to get my attention.

We were all together, flying towards the school to make our pleas about getting in. Fang had swooped in closer to me so that only I could hear what he was saying.

But I ignored him.

"C'mon, Max, we've got to talk," he reasoned.

I stared straight ahead.

"Max, last night-"

"—is something that I'd rather just forget about," I interrupted him. I mean, I _really _didn't want to hear what he had to say. Why would I want to hear the guy that I had feelings for tell me that he regretted ever kissing me? It would be a big blow to my ego…. And my feelings.

Fang sighed. "No, Max, we really _do_ need to talk about it. I want to tell you that-"

"Stop, Fang," I hissed, forcing my eyes to stay dry. "Just stop. Last night obviously meant something different to me than it did for you. So why should we even discuss it? It's not going to happen again, so let's just _not. Talk. About. It._"

He didn't reply. Something that I'd said must've really hit him, because he stopped his insistency and just fell silent. He fell back to his usual position to my right, a little further back than usual. But I could still feel his eyes boring into my back.

Before I could stop myself, a single tear rolled down my face. I tilted my head and let it drop from my face. I watched as it fell, fell, fell to the ground below. Watched as with it, all of my hopes of Fang and me fell with it.

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**Oh, Max! If only you knew! If only you would open your eyes and embrace your feelings! *sob sob sob***

**Haha…. Ahem. Sorry. My dramatic side just got the better of me. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Review, and tell me your thoughts! Maybe even throw in some emotions, you know? This was a very emotional chapter for Maxie Dearest, let us all share in her pain and suffering by giving a little moment of our time to reply to the author that so generously put her through it.**


	16. Are We Cool?

**AN: You know what? Oober ISN'T a word! Bubbley-chan pointed out to me, however, that UBER is! I must've had a brain fart! Seriously, I need to get more sleep. *sigh***

**Oh! And thanks to marcie13, for helping me out with my indecision about this chapter! I love you, girl! *kissy face***

_**lonewolfrox624**_: You know what? I agree! Max's head is indeed mostly made out of bone! And sometimes I think she can be more blind than Iggy! But, I think that deep, deep, down, she knows that Fang is perfect for her. She's just freaking out so her brain is unconsciously trying to find a way out. The way out? It's all Fang's fault. Yep. Max is a blamer. :D

_**xXcrazyemoXx**_: Don't worry. It'll all be better, soon. You'll see. ;)

_**PassWrit11**_: I'm glad you agree! And it always makes me feel good when someone calls me a genius… *blush*

_**emotionalpoemgirl**_: They're both just so freakin' blinded by their feelings. (Pssh, losers!) It is SOOO obvious, too! It's like everyone can tell that they like each other EXCEPT for them! Ugh!

_**Bubbley-chan**_: Thank you for your correction. I am ever in your debt. *kneels at your feet*

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"Well _that _went well," Fang grumbled as he stormed out of the school.

We all followed, not wanting to get in his way. He was pretty upset.

Our little meeting with the new principal, Mrs. Bailer, went very well. She was very sweet and understanding; she made it easy for us to trust her. We explained that we were gone that past week because our parents—the missionaries, remember?—had just gotten home and they wanted to take us camping before they had to leave again for Kenya.

We had a little bit of a problem when she told us that she needed to have a phone call with "our parents". I was about to tell us all to get out of there, real fast, but Gazzy was thinking on his feet.

He gave Mrs. Bailer my cell phone number, which I was confused about until he said that he "had to pee". I understood, then, and I slipped him the phone as he walked by.

Sure enough, when Mrs. Bailer called my cell phone, a very motherly sounding voice answered. God, Gazzy was a genius! His voice manipulation skills saved our scrawny little butts.

Mrs. Bailer and "our mother" talked about normal school stuff—medical information, school guidelines, supplies.

When she hung up, about five minutes later, Gazzy came strolling back in asking "What'd I miss?"

Anyways, it all went well and Mrs. Bailer said that she'd _love _to have us all re-attend Remington… but Fang couldn't.

Do you see why he was upset now?

Apparently, beating people up at a high school football game wasn't the kind of thing that helped you get into a school. Who knew?

"Fang, it's okay. She said that if you did enough community service, they'd let you in. That's all you have to do," I tried to console him.

He spun around in the empty parking lot. (School was already started, so people were in classes.)

"How am I going to keep an eye on…. everyone when I'm off on the side of a road picking up trash?" he asked harshly.

I looked away. "I don't know, but it'll be fine. You'll see."

He laughed humorlessly. "I'm so sure."

Fang took off, right then and there. I looked around quickly to make sure that no one had seen; this wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous place ever.

Seeing him fly away, the others looked at me with worry written across their faces.

I smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, guys. He'll cool off. Umm, why don't we all go to the grocery store like we said we needed to? I'm sure by the time we get back to the house, Fang'll be just fine."

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Boy, was I wrong. When we got home, Fang was locked in his room like he was some drama queen teenage girl from an eighties movie.

"You guys stay down here," I mumbled to the flock. "Go ahead and put up all the groceries. I'm gonna talk to Fang."

They nodded solemnly and went straight into the kitchen without another word. Except for Angel.

"Max?" she said in a sweet little anxious voice. She was standing in the middle of the room, her fingers laced together.

"Yes, sweetie?" I asked her, one foot already on the stairs.

She looked down at the floor, frowning adorably. "Fang's really upset. He… He just needs a hug. Will you give him a hug for me?" Angel looked up pleadingly.

I hesitated, not sure what to say. The last thing I wanted to do right now was hug Fang. I mean, after what I'd said to him earlier this morning? I'm pretty sure he wasn't interested in a hug from me either.

"Please, Max, just promise."

I sighed and nodded.

She smiled and then came and threw her arms around me. "Pass it on," she whispered, and then she skipped to the kitchen.

I groaned internally as I climbed the stairs. Curse Angel and her stupid little adorable face and her cute little button nose and her pretty little blue eyes and her bouncy little golden curls…

I trudged down the hall, my heart pumping vigorously in my chest. I paused in front of his door and then swallowed, trying to make my throat less dry. I hated that he made me feel like this.

"Fang?" I called through the door, hoping that he wouldn't answer. Then I wouldn't have to deal with him. Then I wouldn't have to give him a hug.

There was a long pause, and I was about to celebrate my good luck, when I heard him reply roughly, "What?"

I took a deep breath. "Let me in, please."

I heard the bed creak as he sat up, and then I heard his footsteps as he walked across his room to let me in.

All of a sudden, the door swung open and there he was, standing gloriously in the doorframe, looking down at me. I realized that I had been really close to the door and now was only a few inches away from Fang.

Gasping, I took a step back.

"What?" he repeated.

I gulped again. "I just want to talk."

He smirked. "Oh, so _now _you want to talk." But he let me in anyways.

I stepped into his room, inhaling deeply. We had only been there a couple of days, but already, it smelled like him.

I walked over and plopped down on his bed.

"So…" he prompted.

"Umm, I guess I just kind of wanted to make sure that you were okay." It felt weird to say this to him, because usually it was the other way around: him comforting me. He was always to emotionally intact one.

He nodded. "Yeah. Just a tough day." Fang glanced at me, and I wondered if he was including this morning's conversation…

I blushed, looking away. Of course he did.

"Yeah, well, if you want to talk about it…"

Fang laughed and came to sit down next to me on his bed. "I thought you said that we _shouldn't _talk about it."

I turned an even deeper shade of red. "Well I didn't mean _that_ part of the day. I meant the, you know, not getting accepted back into school thing."

He frowned. "Yeah. That kind of sucks."

I watched him, trying to think of something to say.

"I just… I dunno, I don't like the idea of leaving you alone at the school. I don't think we should be separated," he said.

"Don't worry, Fang. The flock and I will be fine," I told him.

"Right, yeah, the flock…."

I frowned, not knowing what he meant.

We sat in a comfortable silence, just staring at the wall in front of us.

After a while, a question came to my lips. "Are we cool?" I asked him, turning to face him abruptly.

Fang looked startled, not sure what to say.

"I mean… after yesterday…. Are things back to how they used to be?"

Fang hesitated, looking down at the floorboards. Then he glanced back up at me through his long, dark lashes. "Is that… what you want?"

I nodded, though really, I wasn't sure anymore.

He took a deep breath. "Then… yes."

I smiled brightly at him, thinking that this was the answer that I wanted… but somewhere inside me, I felt… Disappointment? Could that really be it?

He half-smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. I wanted to figure out what it was, but Fang had many years of experience with hiding his emotions.

"Well, I'm exhausted. I think it's time for me to go to beddy-bie," Fang chuckled, standing up. It was obvious that he wanted me to leave.

I stood up, too, saying, "Awww, does Fangie want me to tuck him in?"

He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Good night, Max," he said to me, opening the door.

I paused there, remembering something that I had to do.

"Good night, Fang," I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. He stiffened for a moment—which saddened me more than I can even begin to explain—but then he loosened up and wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me back. I buried my head in his chest, breathing in his Fang-like smell.

I pulled back a little, just so he could hear me and said, "That's from Angel," and before I could lose my courage (and my insanity), I tiptoed and kissed his cheek. "_That's _from me."

Fang's face was completely a mask of shock…. and something else that I couldn't quite place.

I quickly detangled myself and stepped briskly out of Fang's room, shutting his door in his face.

I went downstairs and started helping everyone unload groceries.

"Fang's fine," I informed them. "He just wanted to get some sleep—said he was exhausted."

Angel hopped down from the counter that she was sitting on in order to reach one of the higher cupboards, and asked me innocently, "Did you give Fang my hug?"

I smiled and nodded, thinking sourly, _**As if you didn't already know. As if you weren't listening to everything we were saying and thinking.**_

She grinned, her dimples making her the perfect vision of her name. _**You guys are adorable. When will you just get together?**_

I blushed even though she didn't say it out loud. It was still personal, you know?

"Oh, just shut up and put away the groceries," I said playfully, not bothering to send it as a thought.

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**FAXY FAXY FAX FAX FAXINESS FAXYSAUCE. :P**

**Hey, guys, please review and tell me if I should put in Fang's version of this chapter for the next chapter. K? Cuz if I don't get your opinions, it just might end up being really sucky. Yeah, that's how much affect your reviews have on me. It's true. Help a sista out, will ya?**


	17. Are We Cool? Through Fang's Eyes

**AN: It's late. I'm hungry. I have to pee. There—you're updated on my life. *sigh* I really need to get out more.**

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_**maxridelover123**_: I know, right? I'm the one writing this stupid story and even I can't wait till they're together! XD

_**World of New**_: Faxysauce. Faxysauce faxysauce faxysauch fa-freakin-faxysauce. Really. ;)

_**Marcie13:**_ We need to go see Eclipse together as soon as possible. I know that doesn't have anything to do with this story, but I just wanted to remind you. ;D YOU CAN'T SEE IT WITHOUT ME, OK?

_**ObsessiveReader1223**_: Thank you for your opinion, love. :D

_**maxride08**_: Thank you for loving my story! I'm sorry, please don't hate me for this! I just got more people saying that they wanted it in Fang's POV, too! I promise I'll post the next chapter soon.

_**xX-LalA-Xx whowas xXcrazyemoXx:**_ Interesting username. ;D And I am quite positive that faxysauce tastes quite delicious. Thanks for your review! It made me laugh.

_**l****onewolfrox624**_: I love sweet little Fax moments, even if they're totally cliché. I try to make mine original, though. Thanks for your review! :D

_**Flight at Midnight:**_ Hahahaha, yes, she is a VERY hormonal teen. Thank you so much for your support of my story—I really appreciate it! And I agree, the best part of Max and Fang's relationship is their adorable little bantering before they actually get together. I think that's why I love writing this story so much…. XD

_**alexandra021993**_: I sure hope that I'm doing a good job with this story! I'm glad you like it. :)

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"Fang?" Max called tentatively through the door, drawing me out of my trance.

What did she want?

I didn't want to see her right now. I was too upset. I mean, I _hated, _absolutely _hated _that she made me so… in love with her.

I'm not the jealous type, but she makes me jealous. (And over a wiener like Sam, too!)

I'm not the violent-for-no-good-reason type, but she had me throwing people around in public for merely _kissing _her.

I'm not the emotional type, but here I was, lying on my bed, overwhelmed with my freakin' feelings.

And now she was at my door.

I sat up, wondering what she wanted.

_Maybe she changed her mind,_ the hopeful part of my brain whispered.

_Maybe she still doesn't feel the same way, _the rest of my brain stated.

Whatever it was, I knew I had to face it. I was always going to be there for Max, even if she only wanted me there as her best friend.

"What?" I replied finally.

"Let me in, please."

I sighed, walking over to the door.

I stood there for a moment, trying to calm my pulse, and then finally swung the door open.

Max gasped, looking up at me standing in the doorframe. Her eyes got huge and she took a step back, realizing how close she was. Of course, she didn't want to be close to _me._

"What?" I repeated, really wanting this to be over.

She gulped, looking me straight in the eye. "I just want to talk."

I rolled my eyes, seriously doubting that. Earlier today, she had practically been _yelling _at me about _not _wanting to talk. "Oh, so _now _you want to talk." I figured, though, that it was better late than never.

Max took a deep breath, her brown eyes wandering around my room, before she plopped herself down on my bed.

"So…" I prompted.

She looked down, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Umm, I guess I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." She was obviously uncomfortable saying this, although I knew she meant it.

Nodding, I replied, "Yeah. Just a tough day." I was referring to the fact that I had been banned from school, sentenced to a few weeks of community service, and had been rejected by her all in one lousy morning.

I glanced at her, wondering if she knew that I was including our conversation this morning as part of my "tough day". She met my eyes and then quickly looked away, embarrassed.

Yeah. She knew.

"Yeah, well if you want to talk about it…" she said, fidgeting.

I laughed, knowing fully well that _she_ didn't want to talk about it. "I thought you said that we _shouldn't_ talk about it."

She blushed deeper, trying to hide her face. "Well I didn't mean _that _part of the day. I meant the, you know, not getting accepted back into school thing."

I frowned, mixed feelings swelling within me. "Yeah. That kind of sucks."

She turned her face towards me, then, searching my face. She seemed at a loss for words.

"I just… I dunno, I don't like the idea of leaving you alone at the school. I don't think we should be separated," I told her. It was true—I wanted to be there with her, to rudely interrupt her romantic scenes with Sam, to glare at guys like Jamie until they back away. If I wasn't there, how was that going to be accomplished? I mean, without me, Max would get jumped every time she turned around. Don't get me wrong, though—I knew that Max was hardcore and totally capable of taking on any threat, but I also knew that she wasn't aware of the effect she had on the male species. Take for example, yesterday night, when Jamie kissed her.

Max waved my response off. "Don't worry, Fang. The flock and I will be fine."

Of course. It was always the flock, never just me and Max. Max and me.

"Right, yeah, the flock…" I breathed.

She frowned to herself, probably trying to figure out my meaning.

A blanket of silence covered us, and I relaxed into it, watching Max out of the corner of my eye. Her back was hunched and her hair was sloppily pulled back into a ponytail. Some of her hair fell out, caressing her face nicely. Her eyes looked distant as she stared at the wall in front of her. She had her Max-is-thinking face on, so I knew that something was coming.

"Are we cool?" she asked abruptly, facing me.

I looked down, embarrassed that she had caught me staring at her. I looked back up at her and answered her question with a question. "Is that… what you want?"

She nodded, breaking my heart.

I took a deep breath. I had to do this. For her. "Then… yes."

She smiled brightly at me for a moment, but then it wavered, becoming less sure. Was that the answer she was looking for? Was there still hope for us?

I half-smiled back. Max studied me, which made me feel very exposed. I did my best to hide my emotions from her.

"Well, I'm exhausted. I think it's time for me to go beddy-bie," I chuckled, standing up. I needed her to get out of there before she broke through my emotional barrier.

Max stood up, getting my hint, and laughed while saying, "Aww, does Fangie need me to tuck him in?"

I rolled my eyes as I smiled and opened the door for her. "Good night, Max."

She paused at the door. Suddenly, her arms were around me and she whispered, "Good night, Fang."

I stiffened automatically, not use to this. But then I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She buried her face in my chest. My heart was pounding in my ears, I'm sure that she could hear it.

She pulled back a little to look up at me with her, big, beautiful brown eyes. "That's from Angel," she whispered.

Then I saw something light up in her eyes and she quickly tiptoed up to my level and kissed my cheek. My cheek burned where her lips were, and I was frozen in place.

"_That's _from me."

I was completely shocked. And happy. Immensely happy.

Max carefully pulled my frozen arms away from her and left the room without another word.

I stood there, staring at the door that she had just shut in my face.

Crap.

Now I was more confused than ever.

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**Wow, Fang's version of this scene was so much longer than Max's! He's just SO much more descriptive. I know this chapter was kind of a waste, but I thought it'd be cute, and plus pretty much everyone who reviewed said that I should put it in. So there!**

**Review, please. Who's version was better?**


	18. First Day Back

**AN: OHMYGOODNESS. Sorry, guys. Sorry sorry sorry sorry super duper sorry. I know it's been forever. I could try to explain, but I don't feel like coming up with excuses right now, so yeah, I guess you could just say that I've been pretty lazy. It's true. Anyways, I guess I should catch you up so that you'll know what's going on in this crazy story of mine. So here goes: The flock—minus Fang—have been accepted back to school. The only way Fang can come back is to have a certain amount of community service paid off. He is obviously not happy about this. Max still needs to figure out how to tell Fang that she thinks that the house that they're staying in once belonged to his mother when she was growing up. So there you have it, folks!**

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_**World of New**_: Yeah, he definitely is. Your sister says, "Hello."

_**emotionalpoemgirl**_: Fo sho'. I think she's just downright mental.

_**xX-LalA-Xx whowas xXcrazyemoXx**_: Cute, hot, shmexy. All words that suit him well.

_**PassWrit11**_: I agree. I think it was totally out of character for him to just freakin' pick up and leave in the sixth book. I mean, he's totally OBSESSED with Max. He can't leave!

_**maxride08**_: Hmmm. You read my mind. (And Fang's.) I'm glad you don't hate me!

_**Bubbley-chan**_: You're right! Fang can be practical. Max is always just so stubborn.

_**lonewolfrox624**_: Awww, such flattery. * blush *

_**StephanieZorander**_: Thank you, my dear.

_**Flight at Midnight**_: I also think Fang's was better. Probably just because I'm in love with him and anything he does. ;)

_**Somers girl**_: Yeah, he has a good sense of humor.

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"Max, it's good to have you back," my first period teacher said to me in a sing-song voice. She glanced up at me over her spectacles and she was hunched over her desk, grading papers.  
I gulped, feeling every pair of eyes watching me curiously. "Uh-huh," I replied dumbly to the teacher.

"Well, go on, take a seat."

I ducked my head and walked swiftly to the back of the room where there was an empty seat. Some people gave me encouraging smiles, others just stared unblinkingly.

I slumped down in my seat and took out my textbook. That's what the other kids were doing. I'd just pretend like I knew what I was doing.

"Hey," the guy next to me whispered. His eyes were still on his textbook, but I was sure he was talking to me. He was probably just not trying to be too obvious about it so he wouldn't get caught.

"Yeah?" I whispered back, going with it.

"Textbook page one-eighty-nine through one-ninety-six. You can copy my notes if you need to." I studied him as well as I could out of the corner of my eye. He looked familiar, like I'd seen him walking through the halls before… Then I realized that he was one of J.J.'s friends that had sat at our lunch table a few times. I'd never talked to him before, but I assumed that if he was sort-of-friends with J.J. that he could be okay by me.

"Umm… Thanks," I replied after a while.

His brown eyes dared to meet mine and he gave me a crooked smile. "No problem-o," he told me. "I'm Ben." Ben stuck out his hand.

I smiled back and shook it. "So… About those notes…" I suggested.

He laughed quietly and turned away from me to reach down in his backpack. He pulled out a black notebook and opened it to the correct page.

"There you go. You're all set."

I smiled again at him, gratefully this time. "Thank you."

"Like I said, no problem-o." Ben turned away from me and went back to reading from the textbook.

I tore my eyes away from him and glanced down at his neatly written notes. His handwriting was much, much, better than mine, thankfully. I could actually _read_ it. I pulled out my own notebook and got busy copying.

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It was lunch time and I was completely at a loss for what to do. I couldn't sit with the flock, because everyone had a different lunch time. That only left J.J.

But what if J.J. wasn't here? Who would I sit with? What if J.J. doesn't feel like talking to me anymore? What if she was just an Eraser to begin with and not even here anymore?

I walked like a zombie through the lunch line, my thoughts eating away at me. I took my tray and tried to prolong my trip, even stopping by the salad bar (I hate salad) just so I could avoid having to find a seat at one of the dreaded lunch tables.

"Max!" someone called. I scanned the direction I thought the voice had come from. J.J.!

"You're back!" She exclaimed as she skipped up to me. I smiled and nodded.

J.J. threw her arms around me in an unexpected hug. (I almost dropped my lunch tray.)

"Where have you been?" she asked, pulling away and frowning at me.

I racked my brain for a good excuse.

And found the perfect one.

"Well, you remember my brother, Jeff, right?" I asked.

She smiled sympathetically at me. "The one who went missing?"

I nodded. "Turns out that he just took a little time to think things through. Our parents are missionaries, you know, and he always got frustrated because they were never home. So he ran away, so to say, for a little while, just to kind of do some soul searching. He came home a few days ago after our parents had gotten back. They were so worried about him, and they came back as soon as they heard he was missing. We took a few days off to just be a family again."

_**Wow, nicely done, Max!**_ Angel complimented me telepathically.

I tried not to smile smugly on the outside, but truth was, I was a bit proud, too. _**Thanks. Hey, spread the word to the rest of the flock. We've got to make sure that our stories match up.**_

_**Got it! **_

"Oh my gosh, that's so great!" J.J. said.

I smiled. "Yeah, we really missed them and Jeff was just so happy that they were back. It was great."

J.J. took my arm, then and walked me over to her crowded table. There were a couple of people I recognized, one of them being Ben.

He nodded with a smile and I returned it.

J.J. sat down next to Ben and I sat down at the only empty seat there was at that table—across from J.J.

"Max, this is Ben. Ben, Max," J.J. explained with the appropriate hand gestures.

Ben smirked. "We've already met."

J.J. looked between us and blinked. "Oh."

We continued to talk, eat, and laugh as if we were all really great friends. It felt so natural, yet unnatural.

"Max! Hey, you're back!" I heard Sam say from right behind me.

I turned to look up at him. He was smiling so widely, I was surprised that his face didn't like, fall off or something.

"Yep. I'm back," I replied with a smile.

Sam sat down in the temporarily empty seat next to me and greeted J.J. and Ben.

"So you're… _back _back? Or just… back?" he asked me, stealing one of my French fries.

"_Back _back," I assured him with a flirty smile. 'For now' I mouthed and he grinned.

I just wanted to kiss his face off.

Wait… what?

No.

Nevermind.

"So listen, Max, a bunch of us were going to hang out at my house this weekend," Sam told me. "You want to come? I would love to introduce you to my friends." He gave me an almost embarrassed look, and I couldn't even think of turning him down.

"Uh, yeah, that'd be fun," I said, without thinking.

Sam's face lit up. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Awesome. It _will _be really fun. Promise. Oh, and Ben, J.J., you guys are welcome, too," Sam said, turning to them.

J.J.'s eyes got wide. "For real? That'd be sweet! I'd love to go."

Ben gave Sam a crooked smile. "Yeah, cool, I'll come."

Sam smiled at us all. "Great! I'll see you… later?" he said, almost as a question, just speaking to me now.

I blushed and nodded. Sam smiled, gave me a quick kiss that caught me _waaaaay _off guard, and left.

I took a deep breath, then snagged another French fry.

J.J. let out a low whistle. "Man, Max. You scored big with that one." Her eyes were still tracing his retreating figure, but when she pulled her eyes away, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively to let me know that she was just playing. She wasn't planning on stealing Sam.

I laughed, confident for once, that coming back to school might not have been such a bad idea after all.

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School was over, and I was walking through the parking lot, making my way to the woods where I would meet up with the flock.

But then I froze, seeing someone walking towards me.

Someone that I absolutely positively never wanted to see again.

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**Cliffie! Yay! I bet you can't guess who it is. NO, I'm 100 percent POSITIVE that you won't guess who it is. That's how sure I am. And if you DO get it right, I'll…. make you a character in my story! I'll take your name and gender (and how you look, if you'd like that) and let you be a friend of flock-member-of-your-choice. Ha! There you go! A little competition is always good. Any guesses?**


	19. Lissa's Confession

**AN: ….. HA! Only TWO PEOPLE got the answer right. And TECHNICALLY, one of them sorta kinda didn't completely get it because they guessed like ten others, but I didn't really clarify so I let it slide. (You're welcome.) Congratulations to…. FLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT AND BUBBLEY-CHAN!**

**So you two send me the following in a PM:**

1. A description of what you look like

2. Tell me about yourself

3. Tell me which flock member you want to be friends with (but it can't be the same flock member so if you both choose the same one, I'll have to give it to the person who responded first.)

**So do the rest of you want to know what the real answer was? Keep reading to find out! :D**

**Oh, and this chapter has a little bit of… mature content. Nothing too bad, but still a little different than I usually write. I hope it doesn't upset anyone! **

**And, yes, I know that you'll probably be super confused about a lot of this, but it's okay! I'm-a-gonna explain eventually. ;D**

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"What do you want?" I asked her a little harshly. I mean, I couldn't help it. She just provoked things within me that I didn't like being provoked.

Lissa cast her eyes down and walked from her red mini cooper across the parking lot to me. "Yeah, nice to see you again, too, Max," she said sarcastically as she approached.

"What. Do. You. _Want?_" I asked again.

Her eyes showed puzzlement as she glanced up at me. "I don't know what I did to get you so pissed off at me. Maybe it's because I was dating Nick, I don't know, but it's totally unfair for you to be so furious. I mean, I really don't care if you don't think that I'm, like, _good enough_ for him or whatever, because that's Nick's decision and not mine."

Lissa raised her chin defiantly and I just wanted to punch her. But I knew I had to restrain myself, because if Fang found out that I _punched _his _ex girlfriend, _it would totally look like I was a jealous freak. And I wasn't.

"Fine. Is that all you wanted to say?"

She puffed out her cheeks and let out a long, warm, breath. "No. Can you just… tell me when Nick is going to be back? I noticed that he wasn't here with the rest of you."

Of course. She was keeping tabs like all creepy ex girlfriends do. "Uh, he'll probably be back in…. I'd say…. three weeks. Yep. That sounds about right."

Lissa's jaw dropped. "_Three weeks?_" she screeched. "Where the crap is he? I bet he's like, staying with his new girlfriend at her apartment and like getting a job and… Maybe his new girlfriend is pregnant! Yeah, that's probably it… And he didn't tell me and now she's gonna have her baby, so he has to be there for her-"

"Lissa. _Lissa. _SHUT UP!" I finally yelled at her.

She did.

"F-Nick is _not _staying at some girl's house and he did _not _get anyone prego. He just got suspended from school for a while and has to do some community service."

Lissa thought this over. "Community service, huh? I like that. Sounds totally badass. I can handle that."

I internally rolled my eyes.

Then Lissa looked up, all playfulness gone from her expression. "Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Isn't that what you're doing right now?"

She didn't laugh. "Come with me to my car."

I hesitated. "Why?"

Lissa rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to rape you, Max. Chill out a little, alright? I just don't want anyone to hear what I'm about to tell you."

I studied Lissa. Her green eyes didn't have that evil glint like an Eraser would have had. Her freckles didn't look like they had been stretched across her face like an Eraser's would have been. Her body didn't seem as muscular as an Eraser's would have been, either.

I nodded, already regretting it.

I followed her to her car and jumped in the passenger's seat.

The interior of her car smelled exactly like she did: honey and lilacs. Hanging on the rearview mirror was a long, black threaded necklace. There was a feather on the end of it. A _black _feather.

I gulped. Was it… Fang's?

Lissa noticed me staring at the necklace. "Oh, yeah, Nick gave that to me. Isn't that sweet of him?"

Man, I was gonna kick his scrawny little _butt! _He put us in danger! How could he? And it wasn't just that that bothered me… It was… I don't know. I guess I was a little jealous.

Ok. Scratch that. I was _really _jealous.

"Anyways," she continued. "I… need to tell you something. Usually I would be telling this to my friends, but in case you haven't noticed, I can sort of be a bitch sometimes. So anything I tell my friends, they could use against me sometime in the future." She gave me a stern look.

Wow. Friends would do that to each other? I'm glad I'm not into all this teenage drama.

I nodded, waiting for her to actually spill the beans.

Lissa absentmindedly gazed at the necklace. "Well, Nick and I had never been too serious. I mean, we only knew each other for like, two and a half weeks. So I wasn't going to… try anything with him just yet."

I really didn't like where this was going… Maybe I should leave…

_**Stay, Max. She's about to tell you something important.**_

"But one night, he came to my house. I didn't even know that he knew where I lived! He just showed up at my window, so I let him in. At first we just kissed, you know, your normal make-out. But then… it started getting intense. I was telling him to stop because I wasn't… ready, and he did. He stopped and we went back to normal. But for a moment… I thought he wasn't going to stop. It was a little bit scary." She shivered and closed her eyes.

I was frozen. No breathing, no moving, only thinking.

It was too much to take in. I didn't want to hear anymore.

"I just want to know," Lissa said, looking at me. "Is he going to try again? I mean, would he be mad if we… didn't?"

I didn't answer. I just stared at the necklace.

"Max?"

"I have to go," I breathed.

And before she could stop me, I was out of there. I ran out of the parking lot, into the forest.

I wasn't going to cry. I wouldn't. I refused.

The only way I could be sure that I wouldn't cry was if I wasn't alone. I needed to be with the flock (minus Fang) so that I would be sure that I could force the tears away.

* * *

**NUDGE'S POV**

"Where _is _she?" I exclaimed, stomping my foot again. "Max is never late."

We were waiting in the forest, the exact spot that Max had said to meet after school. Here we are… but where the heck is Max?

"I bet she's with that Sam guy," The Gasman said, wrinkling his nose.

I laughed. "You better not tell Fang!"

We laughed, thinking of what Fang would look like if he knew that Max was with Sam.

"Oh, come on, guys, give him a break," Iggy scolded us. "It isn't easy for Fang. I mean, we all know that Max likes him, too, but she would never admit it. Fang has to live thinking that the one person he truly cares about doesn't feel the same way."

We all got quiet and stared at Iggy.

"What?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Shh!" Angel hissed suddenly. "Max is coming!"

So we dropped the never-ending subject of Max and Fang.

Max stumbled into the clearing. She looked really shaken up. She was breathing deeply, her eyes were really glossy and had a far-away look to them.

"Whoa, Max, you okay?" I asked stepping forward and catching her as she stumbled again.

Max looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. "What?"

I looked her dead in the eye. "Are you okay? You look really shaken up."

Max closed her eyes and paused for a few seconds. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and took a deep breath. When she does that, we know that she is trying to pull herself together.

She opened her eyes again, looking like her old self. "Yeah, I'm fine, sweetie," she told me, rubbing my back.

Then she turned to the rest of us and said, "Do you guys want to go have some fun?"

"YEAH!" we all yelled.

Max smiled. "Good. Let's go."

* * *

**MAX'S POV**

I took them to The Track, where they all pretended like they were fourteen in order to drive their own carts. There was a little trouble when they saw Gazzy and Angel, but of course our perfect little mind-reader took care of that.

After driving the track at least ten times, we sat in the stands next to the ticket booth where we watched people bungee jump. It was pretty funny hearing them scream like that, because of course _they _didn't have wings and _they _didn't know how fun free falling could be.

It was good to go out, good to have fun with my family (minus Fang). It was so much easier to distract myself so that Angel didn't know what I'd heard from Lissa. It was so much easier to calm myself down without having to see Fang.

They had asked if we should call Fang about a thousand times, but I lied and told them he would still be at community service. He wasn't. He was probably at home wondering where we were.

Eventually, though, we had to go home. I had prolonged it for long enough, but I had to face him eventually.

I wasn't surprised when we walked in and Fang stormed up to meet me.

"Where the heck have you _been?_" he yelled in my face. He was towering over me with the scariest look on his face.

Behind my back, I motioned for the flock to leave the room. I heard them all escape upstairs, leaving Fang and I alone.

"We were at The Track," I told him calmly, staring him directly in the face.

"And you didn't think to _tell me? _I've been worried sick, Max! I didn't know where you were! I didn't know where to find you!" He was really in my face now.

I scoffed. I didn't like the way he was talking to me. He didn't own me. I understand him being upset, but the feeling was mutual. _He _was the one sneaking off to see his not-so-ex girlfriend. _He _was the one giving out _feathers_ and endangering our secret!

I was about to yell this at him, but then, a better idea struck me.

Two could play _that _game.

I was _sooo _ready to give him a taste of his own medicine. Time for a different approach.

"I'm sorry, Fang," I said sweetly, trying to hide the menace in my voice. "I didn't mean to upset you. You're right, I should've told you. Can you forgive me?"

Fang blinked. "What?"

"Can you forgive me?"

Fang was so confused. It was hilarious! He cocked his head to the side as if this would help him decipher my attitude change.

"Umm… Sure?"

I smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek, reminding me of the other night. Ha! Take that, you jerk! "Thank you. Well, good night!"

I skipped past him and snickered on my way up the stairs. I heard him say, "Wait… What?" He must think that I'm PMS-ing like crazy. Oh well. He can deal with it.

I was going to make him feel everything that I did.

Starting with Sam's party.

* * *

**You guys must be just as confused as Fang! Fang doesn't seem like the type to mess around, Max doesn't seem like the type to get revenge on her best friend. I know. It must be frustrating to not know what's going through the author's mind. ;) Sorry about that.**

**Don't worry! All will be explained!**

**Oh, and Flight at Midnight and Bubbley-Chan: Don't forget to send me a PM!**

**P.S. Thanks to marcie13 for the wonderful idea and for helping me out with this chapter! I love you, sweetheart.**


	20. Sam's Party

**AN: Hey, guys. Sorry it's been a while! With school just starting back and all, *everybody groans* I've been busy/exhausted/lazy. Sorry about that…**

**Anyways, I know you all are a bit pissed at me. (Or Fang.) I know it's really out of character for him, but I assure you that it will all be clear in the future! Have some faith in your fellow Faxmate. ;) Trust me, if I was one of you guys reading this story, I would probably track down the author and kill them. I know.**

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It took some convincing to get Fang to come to the party with me, but it wasn't impossible. When I told him that it was _Sam's_ party, of course he immediately didn't want to come. But when I told him that I wanted him there because I wouldn't have anyone else to talk to (which is a lie because I _knew _that J.J. and Ben were coming), he unwillingly agreed.

I have to admit. I was excited. It sounds a little evil, but I really _wanted _to get back at Fang. I wanted him to know that I knew about his incident with Lissa without actually having to _tell _him. So to sum it up, I'd rather come up with a cruel plan to hurt Fang—and possibly Sam, too—rather than just coming right out and talking it through with Fang. I'm such a wicked person…

I'd let Nudge "fix me up" (as she likes to call it) again. She'd let my wavy hair fall down around my shoulders, but she pulled back part of it with a black pin that looked a lot like a flower. I had on a lot of mascara and a little bit of eyeliner, and a bit of silvery eyeshadow. I was wearing skinny jeans again, black flats, and a silver flowing top.

"So… are you ready?" Fang asked me, pulling me out of my evil mind.

"Oh, yeah, of course." I flashed him a smile which he returned with a raised eyebrow.

We had just flown from our house to the woods outside of Sam's neighborhood. We had walked from there to Sam's house.

Sam lived in a very crowded neighborhood; there was about six feet of yard between his house and his neighbor's. I don't know how he could stand it! I would feel like everyone was watching me, like there was no room to move.

I gulped. "Okay. Let's go."

We walked up the small pathway that led to Sam's two-story, white-columned house that was pulsing with music and the dancing bodies within, casting shadows across the neat little lawn.

When we reached the door, I decided that ringing the doorbell wouldn't do any good. It was too loud inside for anyone to hear.

So I opened the door and stepped inside, Fang at my heels. I immediately felt the heat off of all of the bodies that were crammed onto the makeshift dance floor. My eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Sam.

I spotted him across the room talking to who I assumed were some of his friends. He must've felt my gaze, because he stopped talking and turned towards me. When our eyes met, I smiled my flirtiest smile, fully aware that Fang's eyes were trained on me, and waved to Sam. He waved back.

He turned back to his friends, grinning and nodding his head in my direction. I saw their eyes wander towards me and I nervously smiled at them, too.

Fang leaned towards me. "Are you sure you want to be here? We don't have to stay…"

I tried to hide my smirk. "No, let's stay. At least for a little while." I gave him a reassuring smile.

He sighed, which I took as a yes.

Sam was now making his way through the crowd to meet me. I took a deep breath.

_This is it. This is what I've been waiting for._

I kept repeating the words in my head.

He was a few feet away now. I never lost eye contact with him.

It was just Sam, Fang, and me. We were the only ones in the room. Everyone else didn't exist at the moment.

Sam was six feet away now…

Four feet…

Two feet…

He stopped in front of me and opened his mouth to greet me, but I beat him to it.

Gathering up all my courage, I flung my arms around his neck and launched myself at him. Our lips met and I was praying and hoping against hope that he wouldn't reject me.

And trust me. _He didn't._

He actually was into it. We were full on making out. My hands were tangled in his hair and his arms were wrapped around my waist, holding me against him.

"Hey. _Hey. _Hey!" Fang growled from somewhere behind me.

Sam pulled away and tucked me under his arm so that we were both facing Fang. I wrapped my arm around his waist and laced two fingers in the belt loop on the side of his jeans.

Fang's face was tight and strained. He had placed his arms tightly across his chest as if he was trying to restrain from choking someone.

I let out a little loose giggle and did my best to look embarrassed. I tried to make my face say, "oops-I-guess-we-got-carried-away-and-I-didn't-even-notice".

Fang's eyes flashed to my face. This time I didn't have to work hard to make the color rise in my face.

"So…" Sam started, trying to break the tension. "Nick… I heard that you beat up that guy that jumped on Max."

My eyes widened. I hadn't thought that he would've heard about that. I slowly brought my eyes to Sam's. He glanced at me and gave me a forgiving smile.

"Hey, don't worry," he said so that only I could hear. "That Jamie kid thinks he can get all of the prettiest girls. He's known for jumping on girls like that."

I blushed again as I heard the hidden compliment.

Fang looked between us, unsure if he should answer Sam's question or not. "Yep," he said eventually.

We stood there for another minute, awkwardly standing in front of Fang. I shifted uncomfortably under Sam's arm. Sam got the message and removed his arm, replacing it around my waist.

Fang's eyes trailed down to my waist where he glared at Sam's hand.

I coughed into my hand and gave Sam a look that said, this-is-extremely-awkward-please-do-something when Fang wasn't looking. (Because he was still glaring at Sam's hand.)

Sam got the hint and asked me, "Do you… want to dance?"

Whoa. Not expecting that one.

I laughed nervously. "I can't dance."

Sam smirked. "Neither can I."

I thought about it. Would Fang hate it if I danced with Sam?

Totally.

"Ok. Let's dance," I told Sam, biting my lip and letting him lead me onto the dance floor. I felt Fang's eyes following us the whole way.

We started off just kind of swaying back and forth awkwardly, but I think after a few nervous laughs, we were comfortable.

Really, all you need to know to be able to dance is this: keep the beat. If you move with the beat, nothing else matters. It could be a simple head bob, hip swaying, jumping up and down. Just. Keep. The beat.

Sam had his hands on my hips and we were just kind of going with it. It wasn't hard. All in all, it was kind of fun. Is that bad?

Shortly after, though, it turned into a slow song.

I gulped.

Sam nervously smiled at me and took a step closer. I put my arms around his neck and laced my fingers together.

We swayed and swayed and swayed…

My mind was somewhere else, though. I was thinking about… Fang. I know, it's stupid. He had acted like a man-slut, but I couldn't help the way I felt about him. I mean, obviously I wasn't going to do anything about it because I could never be with a guy who took women for granted. It was totally disgusting to me. How could Fang possibly have done that? There was always the possibility that Lissa had been lying… But she had seemed so honest and down-to-earth…

"Max," Sam whispered in my ear.

I blinked, focusing back on the situation at hand. "Hmm?"

He took a deep breath. "I think I'm… falling in love with you."

I froze up.

"W-What?" I asked in astonishment, pulling away.

I stared at Sam, who just opened and closed his mouth as if he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"M-Max, I-I didn't mean to spring it on you like that, I just—"

Too late.

I was pushing through the crowd, leaving Sam humiliated in the middle of the dance floor.

_God, I'm such an idiot!_ He hadn't done anything wrong. I probably just overreacted. But still. Him saying that was… hard to hear. Especially since I didn't feel the same way. Especially since I was purposefully using him. He was such a good guy. Why was I such a jerk?

I flew out the door and stood on the front porch, a single tear running down my cheek.

"Oh, God. What did I _do?_" I groaned, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples.

"You ok?" Fang asked from right next to me.

I jumped, pure instinct kicking in as I punched him in the gut.

"AUGH!" he grunted, clutching his stomach.

I breathed out heavily. "You deserved it! Don't sneak up on me, idiot!"

Fang winced. "Trust me. That'll be the last time."

I cracked a smile and sniffled.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked him.

He hesitated. "Needed some fresh air."

I snorted. "Me too."

He looked down at me. "What's wrong?" His eyes were filled with concern and curiosity and… longing?

Nah.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I'm fine."

You know something that frustrates me about Fang? He doesn't drop it. He has to know _everything._

"Max. Come on. You can tell me."

You know something _else_ that frustrates me about Fang? He can always get me to tell him everything.

"Sam told me that he loved me."

Fang froze by my side. He took a deep breath.

"Well… He told me that he was _falling _in love with me." I shrugged. "Either way, it was… unexpected."

"What did you say back?" Fang asked evenly. I couldn't detect anything from him.

I looked down. "It doesn't matter."

He turned towards me. "Yes, Max, it really does. What did you say back?"

I huffed angrily. "Why does it matter, Fang? Why do you care so much?"

I really wasn't expecting him to reply at all, so when he did, it took a while to process.

"Because I need to know where you stand with him."

I thought. All I could think to say back was, "Why?"

"Because it may influence where you stand with _me._"

Angrily, I spun on my heel to face him. I got up in his face, glaring, and spat out the words, "Oh don't even pretend, Fang."

He blinked, frowning. "Pretend what?"

"That you care about anything or anyone but yourself."

"Oh, and what the heck is _that _supposed to mean?" Fang roared, making me have to take a few steps back.

"It means that I know the truth, Fang!" I snapped. "I know _everything. _You don't have to put on this fake act anymore. Just cut the crap." Of course I was referring to the Lissa incident.

Fang's face was twisted into a mask of confusion. "Wait… What?" He was a good actor. I wasn't going to buy it, though.

I stormed away from him, walking on the front pathway that fed into the sidewalk.

* * *

When I got back, everyone was at the dining table, playing Monopoly. I said hi to them briefly, but had to escape to my room.

I flew through the door and heaved a tearless sob. Then I jerked off my shoes and kicked them under the bed.

_Thump._

I cocked my head. There was something under my bed that my shoes had obviously made contact with. My first reaction was that there was either someone hiding under my bed, or a bomb.

Quickly, I jumped on the bed and lay on my stomach.

I carefully leaned over the edge and peered under the bed.

Hmm. No person. No bomb. But there was something else… I reached out and grabbed the rectangular object and pulled it onto the bed.

It was…

It was…

A photo album?

* * *

**No way that you guys were expecting that one. ;D Tell me what you think of this poorly written chapter please! (I know it's not my best handiwork.)**


	21. Rachel's Album

**AN: Hello, dear friends! It's been a while! Sorry, sorry, and all that good stuff. :D Hahaha! Pretty much every one of your reviews sad something along the lines of, "Whoa. Dramatic." That's hilarious! And I didn't even realize that I was doing it! Psssh, that's just great. It makes me all smiley and stuff.**

**Previously on Back to School: The NORMAL Kind… Max has just returned from an eventful party where she had tried to make Fang jealous, but her plans backfired. Sam had told her that he loved her, and Max being the stubborn girl she is, stormed out and found Fang on the porch. They talked (a.k.a argued) and Max got pissed and ran off, leaving Fang awfully confused. She went immediately to her room, and discovered a photo album under her bed…**

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* * *

**

What's this?

A photo album? Not exactly what I was expecting. (Seriously. Talk about an anticlimax…)

I sat down on the creaky bed and pulled the leather covered book into my lap. Creaking the cover open, I glanced at the first page.

It read: _This album belongs to Rachel Russo – 1977-1978._

I did the math in my head—about… thirty one years ago.

I flipped the page. My heart sped up and I gasped as I saw Fang's mom smiling up at me. I had almost completely forgotten about her. How could that be possible?

The first page in the album was full of Fang's mom and who I assumed to be her parents. There was one snapshot of Rachel (a.k.a. Fang's mom) on her seventeenth birthday. She had one of those cheesy cone birthday hats on and she was leaning over her candle-covered cake. She looked so happy—a little _too_ happy if you ask me—as if she was trying to take every lat bit of happiness in. Her parents—whom I'd recognized as the couple in the pictures downstairs-had the exact opposite expressions. They wore identical masks of extreme sorrow. Though they were wearing smiles, it was almost as if they were just smiling to keep their daughter happy. If I squinted really hard, I could see a streak on Rachel's mother's left cheek. Frowning, I looked at the next picture.

It must've been her prom, because I recognized the corsage around her wrist. She was wearing a beautiful silky chocolate brown color that complimented her brown hair and dark eyes perfectly. Her arm was weaved through her date's, a tall, tanned boy with green eyes and jet black hair. He looked completely overjoyed just to be standing next to Rachel. On either side of them, Rachel's parents had a hand on their shoulders and were smiling as they were about to send them off to prom.

My eyes dropped to the next picture, one that had obviously been taken without Rachel's knowledge. She wasn't facing the camera; all it showed was her back, her head slightly tilted as she concentrated on the masterpiece she was painting across the wall. It was beautiful—Rachel was very talented. She had painted an elaborate scene of a giant tree on top of a hill. The sun was setting in the background. It looked so real, so… lively. I couldn't let my eyes settle on one little detail because it was so overwhelming, but I did focus in on the thing Rachel had been painting when the picture had been snapped.

I gasped.

… How could she have known?

Rachel was painting a raven, its feathers dark as night, but with a hint of purple and blue.

Just. Like. Fang's. Wings.

In the room, there was also a mirror, a dresser, and a crib. (Fang's crib, maybe?) In the mirror, I could see Rachel's parents—her dad holding the camera and her mother's arms wrapped around his waist and her face had all of the signs of motherly affection.

I didn't recognize the room; I hadn't seen it on the wall on any of the rooms. Had this been taken at a different house, maybe? Had they moved?

I quickly slammed the book shut and rubbed my temples. Talk about a major headache…

_**Pay attention to the details, Max.**_

Talk about a major _major _headache.

I groaned. _Seriously, Voice? Now's not a good time. _

_**I'm trying to help you. You're very close. Pay attention to the details…**_

_What the heck do you mean? What freaking details?_

No answer.

Brilliant.

Sighing, I trudged across the room with the photo album in my arms and collapsed onto my pull-out mattress. Carefully, I slid the photo album under my bed so that Nudge wouldn't find it.

I needed to mull things over. I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up.

"Max?" Nudge's feeble voice came from the doorway. "You okay?"

My eyes snapped open. "Of course. I'm fine." I smiled and gave a fake yawn. "Just _really _tired and all. Parties are exhausting."

"I'm sure." She rolled her eyes and plopped down on her bed where I had been sitting just moments before.

_Good thing I hid the album when I did, _I thought smugly to myself.

"Where's Fang?" she asked a little too innocently.

I shrugged, staring up at the ceiling.

"Did you guys… get into a fight?" she asked softly.

My eyes quickly darted to her fallen face. "Nudge, don't worry about it. Fang and I always fight. We always work it out."

Nudge brought her gaze to mine. "But it seems to have been getting worse lately."

Hmm… How was I supposed to explain that? We _had _been fighting a lot lately…

"Honey, we're fine. I promise."

She didn't look convinced. "None of us believe that anymore. We don't like it when you fight and we certainly _don't _like it when you lie to us about it."

I gulped. I'd have to talk to Fang about this…

"We're working it out."

Nudge raised an eyebrow. "Well just hurry up and make out already! I mean… make _up _already… Umm, yeah, hurry and make up already!"

My eyes widened in surprise. "Nudge, did you just say—"

"What's that, Iggy?" she interrupted. "Oh, okay! I'm coming!" And then she ran out of our room as if she was running for her life.

I shook my head and let out an uncertain laugh.

* * *

**AN: So if you haven't noticed, I really like Nudge and I really like her and Max becoming good friends… Girl bonding time! :D Haha! Well anyways, sorry it took so long to update. I'm kind of losing interest in this story… But I'll try to stay focused! *sigh* It's hard. :\**


	22. Senorita Nudge

**AN: Aww, you guys are too sweet! And DON'T WORRY. I'm NOT going to stop writing this story. I hate it when authors abandon their stories! I just… might be a little slow on the updating…**

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"Buenos dias!" Nudge said a little too loudly considering it was the middle of the night and I was trying to get to sleep.

…Wait. Did she just say that?

I sat straight up. "Nudge?" I asked warily.

Sure enough, Nudge was also sitting straight up in bed, staring right at me.

"Como estas?" she asked. It would've been funny if it weren't for the fact that she was just staring blankly at me as if she were completely serious.

"Uhh…"

"Soy una tamali caliente."

"Nudge, are you okay?" I asked hesitantly.

Her face didn't change. "Tiene los ojos sueno barco."

Okay, I'll admit, I was totally creeped out. Quickly, I ripped the blankets away from my body and sprinted out of there. Then I went to the only place I knew I could find comfort—Fang's room.

I wasn't thinking, really. I just knew that whenever I had ever needed comfort or support, Fang was my go-to guy.

I cracked the door open and peeked into his room. There he was, sprawled across the bed like a fallen archangel. He blended in with his surrounding so perfectly—it would've been hard to see him had it not been for the moonlight filtering nicely through the room. One thing that I really liked about the sleeping version of Fang was that he always sort of smiled in his sleep.

I took a deep breath and tiptoed across the room and silently crawled onto his bed. There was just enough room for me to fit right next to him. We were facing each other and I snuggled closer to him, surprising myself.

I didn't want to remember our fights, I didn't want to remember what Lissa had told me, I just wanted to stay there, next to Fang. Is that too much to ask? Besides, Nudge had been noticing the fact that we were fighting. She'd said that everyone was worried about us. I had to make sure things were right between Fang and I.

"Fang," I hissed up at his sleeping face.

His eyes snapped open immediately and he gasped and jumped a little when he saw me. "God, Max! Don't do that!" He sighed and clenched his jaw.

I allowed him a few moments to collect his thoughts. I watched intently as Fang suddenly seemed to realize that I was in his bed.

He cleared his throat. "Umm, what are you doing here?"

I frowned. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd mind. I didn't really think about it. I'll go then."

I started to get up, but Fang's arm shot out and wrapped around my waist. He pulled me closer to him, objecting. "No! I just wasn't… expecting it, that's all." He smiled apologetically.

I wasn't breathing. His arm was around me. He was holding me against his chest. I was in his bed. How did I not predict this outcome?

"So… what are you doing here?" he asked again.

I blushed. "Nudge was sleep talking in Spanish," I admitted, feeling stupid. It was so much creepier than it sounds!

Fang grinned. "In her sleep?"

I nodded.

"Hmm. What'd she say?" he asked.

"I don't know. I don't speak Spanish. Duh."

Fang rolled his eyes at me and we were quiet.

Oh god. What was I doing here? I was in _Fang's bed._ I'd never been this stupid before.

As the realization crept over me, my eyes began to widen and I grew stiffer and stiffer in the close proximity between us. I could tell that Fang was just as confused as I was about what the heck I was doing there. God, I'm so stupid.

"So," I said meekly, clearing my throat. "We need to talk about something."

Fang's eyes widened, too, as he asked, "What do we need to talk about?"

I took a deep breath. "The kids have noticed how often we've been fighting," I started, not meeting his eyes. I didn't want to see the truth of it there. "They're worried about us. We've gotta fix that."

"How?" Fang inquired.

I sighed frustrated, not having the slightest idea. "I don't know. You've gotta stop provoking me so much."

Fang barked out a humorless laugh. "_I've _got to stop provoking _you?_ _Me? _Really, Max, I'm not the one with mood swings and I'm not the one accusing people of doing something they didn't do and getting mad at them for it. And I'm not the one that's not even telling them what they're even accusing them of!" His voice was a low hiss so he wouldn't wake anyone up, but it was loud enough for me to hear the ferocity behind it.

Geez, I'd never seen him get so worked up before! I felt my face heat up with anger and I suddenly snapped up, leering over him as he lay flat on his back.

"But I'm _not _accusing you of something you didn't do! I'm accusing you of something you _did _do and you _know _you did it. Stop playing dumb." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Fang sat up now, too, and we were just inches away as we glared into each others faces. How had it come to this again? We were being all nice and having a normal conversation one minute, then another we were about ready to off each other!

"Oh, yeah? And what did I do?"

I felt a pang in my chest and my throat closed up at the thought. There was no way I was going to be able to tell him with enough venom in my voice to make him confess.

"Max, what did I do?" he repeated in a calmer tone. He must've seen the change of my expression, because he gently turned my head to face him. His fingers lingered on my cheek as he awaited my response. His touch made my skin burn, and it made it a little hard to focus. I wanted to shake him off… But not really. I loved the way it made me feel.

I swallowed. "Lissa… she…" I hesitated. What if she got hurt because of this? What if there was some kind of girl pact that I wasn't aware of where I wasn't allowed to share secrets? This was probably totally off limits. But… I could trust Fang. Right? "She told me about that night when you went to see her."

I stared Fang down, waiting to analyze any sign of truth in my words. If there was any flash of guilt in his eyes, I would catch it. If there were any knowing smirks, I would be all over the case.

But instead, Fang's eyebrows knit together and he tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? I've never been to Lissa's house."

I frowned. "Really?"

Fang nodded. "Never. What did she tell you?"

I ignored his question and asked one of my own. "Then why does she have a necklace with a black feather on it?" I was ashamed when I heard my own voice quiver with disconcertment.

Fang's face went blank. To most people, they would think that he wasn't thinking at all. But since I know him so well, I knew that he was thinking hard.

He stayed like that for a while and I found myself becoming impatient for his response. Surely if it took this long to deny, it must be true, then?

I gasped and jerked away as if he'd slapped me. I tried to bite back the tears, but they started to blur my vision. "Traitor!" I hissed at him, clenching my jaw. "How could you do that to us? Do you know how much you've put on the line just so your stupid _girlfriend _could have one of your pretty feathers around her neck? God, Fang, why don't you try thinking about someone else but yourself for—"

But Fang cut me off by placing a hand over my mouth. (I'll admit, I was tempted to lick it like some foolish child just to see him jump away in disgust.) He shushed me rudely and looked me dead in my teary eyes.

For a moment, he didn't say anything at all and I couldn't stop the tears from leaking over the brim. I was completely mortified as they spilt onto Fang's hand. He blinked and finally took a good look at me. Slowly, he pulled back his hand and stared at a tear that had been left there.

"I didn't give her a necklace. And I certainly _did not_ give her a feather," he mumbled, focusing on the small bead of liquid on his hand. Suddenly, he brought his eyes to mine and I saw them burning with sincerity. "I promise you, I would never betray you like that."

I sniffed, not knowing if he meant that "you" as in literally _me _or as in the whole flock. Either way it was good to hear.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Goodnight," I said abruptly, collapsing back onto his bed. I didn't want to go back to Senorita Nudge. I wanted to stay with Fang, the guy that I was possibly in love with.

He chuckled at my quick change of conversation and finally laid down again, too, facing me. "Goodnight," he whispered back.

As I closed my eyes, I felt his arms wrap around my waist again as he pulled me closer. I wiggled a little, closing the space between us and rested my forehead on his chest. I breathed in his intoxicating scent and I silently prayed that we could stay like this forever.

Stupid hormones.

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**HAHA! Sorry it kind of jumps around A LOT, but I just wanted to get this freaking scene out of the way! GAH! And yes, I know, the chapter is titled "Senorita Nudge" and yet it barely includes her. I just wanted the REAL chapter to be a surprise. Surprised? ;D**


	23. Fang's Revelation

**AN: I'm BAAAACK!**

**Just wanted to say thanks to those of you who were understanding on the subject of my writing vacation. It's hard to write when you're uninspired, you know? And just to clear the air with some of those who apparently can't read, I DON'T HATE MAXIMUM RIDE. I just have my own opinions about the plot and such. I am an American, I'm allowed to have opinions. Sorry.**

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***FANG'S POV***

Stupid hormones. They kept me up all night! I couldn't get to sleep when _Max _on the other hand was sleeping as if she were a freaking baby! Ugh. Unfair.

Yet, on the other hand, I loved watching Max's face as it shifted along with her dreams. The only time her face was completely worry-free was when she was deep in slumber.

Oh god. I'm such a stalker. I'm watching Max _sleep _now? That's creepy on a level I don't even want to understand. I wish I could kick myself in the face.

Max's eyelids fluttered a bit and of course my stupid heart had to speed up like I was some stupid teenage girl.

She yawned and arched her back as she stretched, reminding me of a kitty cat. (_A kitty cat?_ Oh, please, dear Lord, kill me now. I am a shame to all of mankind.)

Then, all of a sudden, Max's eyes snapped open and immediately found mine. I jumped a little at the abrupt movement.

"Fang," Max said in a no-nonsense voice. "Come with me." She sat straight up and paced to the door.

What?

"Uhh… Where are we going? It's five-thirty AM on a Saturday morning."

Max tapped her foot impatiently. "Since we're not fighting anymore, I need to tell you something. And… show you something." She watched me with cautious eyes.

I squinted at her. What's with the sketchiness? "Okay…" I grumbled, standing up and following her.

She stepped out into the hallway and tiptoed into her and Nudge's room. I waited outside, just to give them their privacy. (You know how girls are about their personal space.) When Max came back out, she shivered.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nudge is still mumbling in Spanish."

I grinned. "How is that so creepy?"

She glared at me. "It's creepier than it sounds, trust me."

I stepped forward, trying to go around Max to get into their room. Max had gotten me curious—I wanted to be witness of Senorita Nudge.

Max stepped in my way. "You can hear her later. This," she said, tapping on book she was holding, "comes first."

Huh. I hadn't even noticed that she had been holding anything! It looked sort of like a photo album… but what would that have to do with anything?

"Is that… a photo album?"

Max nodded.

"Who's is it? Why are you showing it to me?" Alright, now I was a little creeped out. My gaze darted to her face, then down to the album held gingerly in her arms.

Max shifted the album so that it was under her left arm and her right arm was free. Her hand lifted and she placed it on my cheek. I was so startled by the uncharacteristic gesture. I wanted to place my hand over hers and hold it there forever, but something in her eyes was telling me that what she was about to say would possibly change my mind.

"Fang," Max breathed, staring me down. Her brown eyes were miles ahead of her words, and I could almost see the words expressing themselves there. "You trust me, right?"

I nodded immediately. Of course I trusted her. If Max wasn't trustworthy, I wouldn't be alive right now.

"And you know that sometimes I make stupid mistakes, and this may be one of them, but I always do what I think is best for our family, right?"

I paused, and tried to break that down in my head. I mean, that's a lot of wordy words for an undereducated bird kid to process in the early morning! "Uh-huh," is what I finally decided to go with.

Max took a breath. "Ok, good. Now, I need you to _promise_ that you won't go into a fit of rage when you look through this. I don't need to deal with a psychopath right now."

I shook my head and stepped away from her. Her hand dropped back to her side.

"Max, what is this even about?"

"Just promise, okay?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Alright, I guess I can—"

And before I finished, I leaped out and snatched the album from her slackened grip. Heh-heh. She wasn't even expecting it.

"Fang!" Max protested from behind me, but I ran back into my room and slammed the door so that she couldn't get in. I leaned against the door as Max pounded, kicked, and threw herself against it.

Quickly, before Max killed herself in attempt to get to me, I opened the photo album. The first page, which was blank besides the beautifully scripted words, read _Rachel Russo 1977-1978._ So that was like… thirty years ago? (Yeah, that's right. I know math. Just go ahead and call me Fang the Human Calculator. Batteries not included.)

I felt another pound in my back and Max's shrill voice drifted through with a warning. "Fang! Please, Fang, don't look yet! I don't know how you'll take it…"

I rolled my eyes. It's a freaking photo album! Its not like I was the type to get all teary-eyed. Seriously, once I watched a movie with Nudge and Angel about this serial murderer, only his victims happened to be adorable little puppies. It was touching, really, but I managed to keep my cool. (Well…)

I shook my head and turned the page. My eyes were immediately attracted to the girl in the birthday cone hats. She had long, dark brown hair and pale skin, but that's not what shocked me… It was her eyes. Her dark, dark, eyes that I knew…

Because they were mine.

Was this some kind of a sick, twisted joke? Well, of course it is. This is _my_ life we're talking about, isn't it? Of all the places we would choose to live, we chose _this _one. My mom's house.

_My. Mom._ I knew it from the moment I saw her. She was my mom.

My throat closed up and I felt all the blood draining from my face. I couldn't stop, though. How could I?

Slowly, I forced my eyes to slide down the page. There she was again. She was all dressed up in some fancy prom dress and on her arm was a tall, dark boy with soft green eyes and jet black hair.

I let out a slow hiss, thinking, _This must be my father._

I blinked, but couldn't stop myself from staring at my… parents. I… I had parents. I didn't know how I felt about this, but it was pointless trying to avoid it, right? I had to keep going. I _needed _to.

With trembling fingers, I flipped the page. The next picture was taken by my mom's parents (or should I say my grandparents?) and my mom was painting a beautiful mural on a wall. My eyes tried to take in all the detail, but it was so much to absorb. My eyes focused in on one thing, though. On the wall, there was a raven. It's wings were black with a hint of royal purple. Sound familiar?

I glared up at the ceiling, not sure who or what I should be mad at, but I was mad. Did she know? Did she know what I was going to become? If she was, I would have every right to hate her. But I couldn't shake the feeling that she generally cared… My eyes returned to the nerve-wracking photograph and I saw the crib sitting in the corner of the room. Surely, then, she couldn't have known. Why would you buy a crib and prepare a room for a baby you weren't intended to keep?

I turned the page again and my eyes scanned across more pictures of my mother, Rachel, and who I assumed to be my father. In each picture, whether they were lounging on a hammock or just smiling up at each other, there was a deep sense of love. I could see it in the way they leaned towards each other, the way they smiled at each other, the way they simply just radiated when they were together. I smiled a little at that, a sense of hope spreading through me.

"Fang?" Max's voice cut through the emotions that were tensely wrapped around me.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah?" My voice wavered slightly, but seriously, what do you expect? I just discovered the most world-rattling revelations anyone could ever come across.

"Can I… come in?"

I reached up behind me and grasped the handle. Leaning forward, I was able to provide just enough room for Max to slide through the slip without me having to actually get up.

Silently and considerately, Max sat down next to me and drew her knees up to her chest. I desperately hoped that she wouldn't say or ask anything… I wouldn't be able to compose a response. I was mind-boggled. (I've always wanted to say that… Heh-heh.)

She didn't.

We sat there, my breaths deep and ragged, hers soft and peaceful.

"Max…" I croaked before I even realized that I was planning to speak to her.

She turned her beautiful head to stare at me with compassion. "Yes?"

"Why does this happen to us?" The question lingered in the air, neither of us knowing how to answer. I don't know why I asked it, but it just seemed like I finally had an excuse. Can't a kid question these kind of things when they're having some sort of a mid-life crisis?

I didn't even realize that she was leaning towards me, but when she whispered, I could feel her breath on my cheek.

"Because the world knows that we're strong enough to handle it." And then she placed her soft lips on my cheek in a gentle, comforting kiss. Once she'd pulled back, her head rested lightly on my shoulder and I snaked an arm around her.

Well, I guess that's a good enough answer for me.

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**Awww, Fangy-poo! Heh-heh…**

**Alright, guys, just 'cuz I'm back doesn't mean I'll be updating as frequently as I'd like. This story has a pretty deep plot and I have to put a lot more thought into each chapter now that we're getting into the denser part of the story. ;)**

**Also, sorry this chapter is really short…**

**Reviews would make me jump up and down and squeal and make an all around fool of myself. You don't want to deny me that, do you?**


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